Family is Everything
by asdawnbreaks
Summary: What if Peeta had won the 73rd Hunger Games without Katniss? What if she continued her relationship with Gale? Would the rebellion still have happened? Would their love endure? Katniss and Gale put family over everything as they try to change the structure of Panem during the 74th Annual Hunger Games!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one.  
**He sat at their meeting place. She wasn't there, her sister had bad dreams that morning, but he didn't know that. He didn't know what was keeping her, and he knew she wouldn't be too far in the distance, so he lay on the wide rock and took a nap before the sun rose.

His sleep was dreamless these days, as it often was. Gale was too tired during the day to have the energy to dream at night. Wake early, hunt enough food for breakfast and lunch, set the snares, go home, make the food, get everyone to school, come home from school, back to the woods, hunt for supper and trade, trade at the Hob, eat supper at home, help the children with homework, sleep.

It had been his routine for years, one he wasn't sure he would ever break out of. The thought of his siblings always going hungry struck a fear in him that pushed him to sneak out of the fences that surrounded the district.

It was here, in these woods, that he ever felt himself really smile. Not a smile he faked for his mother to show her he was happy, not the smile he faked for his brothers while wrestling, and not the smile he gave his baby sister Posy while making up stories of princesses and dragons. These smiles were reserved for one person and one person only, the love of his life.

He woke to her shaking his shoulder, agitated that she had lost so much valuable hunting time. Her sister had been having the same nightmare for a week, she always woke screaming, believing it was real and finally climbing in the bed with their mother. It was the same nightmare that Katniss had herself every year around this time.

The pending Hunger Games for this year had that effect on everyone. A boy and a girl from each of the 12 districts. 24 teenagers aged 12 to 18 to fight to the bitter death.

Katniss's dreams were never about herself like Prim's had been. Up until this year, her hunger games nightmares were always of Gale. Like her, he had always taken tesserae to feed his family. That, coupled with how old he was, he would have forty-two slips of paper in the reaping bowl today. She knew this, accepted it, and hated it in the same breath.

Gale was her hunting partner, the only person she really felt alive with. They could read each other's emotions like reading each other's handwriting. If the Capitol took him from her…it was unthinkable. She would survive, and she would do her best to keep both families alive, but it was too hard of a thought to process. She pushed it from her mind and addressed the half asleep 18 year old boy beside her.

"Gale, why didn't you start without me? You've lost at least an hour."

He smiled and ran his hand through his too-long black hair. She had the rough Seam look, coupled with four years of hard work to keep her family alive. He had the same look, both of them forced to grow up too quickly, to take parenting roles they didn't want.

"You know I do my best hunting with you, Catnip." She rolled her eyes at his nickname, "we can make double what we normally do anyway. It's Saturday."

She shrugged. The reaping would be tomorrow and they would have to make everything they caught this week last. It would be hard, it always was, but they'd make it through, just as they always did.

It was harder for him than it was for her; he had four mouths plus his own, she just had three total. When they were smaller, years and years ago, they split everything down the middle, no matter who shot what. But since Posy had reached toddler status, Katniss had been imposing more of the kills on Gale. He didn't like it, but he would take it.

He grabbed his bow, checked his snares from yesterday (which contained three perfectly plump rabbits), reset them, and started following Katniss on the left side, as always.

Five squirrels, another rabbit, a missed deer, a basket of blackberries and strawberries, and two fish later, they headed to the Hob. Normally they would go home to make lunch and come back to the woods, but the Mayor had informed them that the fence would go on around 4pm that afternoon and it would stay on until around 9am the next morning. Coming back on before 12 that day and staying on until the games were over.

They hid their bows and took their kills down to trade. They each kept a fish and split the rabbits evenly. They traded the baker two squirrels for two loaves of bread—not their usual trade, but the baker did feel sorry for them since it was the day before reaping day.

The mayor paid them several coins for the half the berries, Gale and Katniss split what was left up evenly. It would make for a nice celebration after Gale's last reaping. They took the coins, the three squirrels left, and walked into the Hob together.

The talk stopped when they entered, and upon seeing them, the whispers began. Gale knew they were the talk of the town. In fact, he had overheard several wagers on when they would get together or if they had already. He snorted, people loved wasting valuable money.

Not that he could tell anyone when or if they were meant to be. He loved Katniss in a way different than family, and he knew well enough to know that she didn't love him in the same way. He had only realized it himself six months prior. He was continuously shrugging it off, convincing himself it didn't matter. In the beginning, he had thrown himself at other girls, earning himself a name in the way he didn't really want to. 'King of the Slap Heap,' they had called him. Each girl giggling in his presence. He knew he was an attractive boy, the many girls had told him so. But eventually he had realized that glamour and good looks wasn't going to win over the heart of the girl he wanted most.

He had given her one thing, she had never judged him. She had ignored the stares of girls as they walked halls together, and walked to and from school. She had stood by his side no matter what awful or good thing they were saying about him. She regarded Gale as her family, and he knew that family was something she would never abandon.

They had traded for some ribbon for Prim's pet goat, a new set of colors for Posy, and Gale got ahold of a book for his brothers. Rory wasn't much of a reader, but the story was about knights in shining armor saving the fair princess from a sure and fiery death. Katniss had shook her head when he bought it. She didn't believe in fairy tales. The only happy ending she believed in was full stomach and plenty to eat.

As they started to walk home, Gale thought about taking her hand, and thought the better of it. It would all come in due time if it were meant to be. He settled for racing ahead of her and catching her off guard. "Catnip. Can you meet me in the woods tomorrow before the reaping? They won't turn on the fence till 9, and we're usually out of the woods by then. I'll meet you before daybreak at our rock."

She agreed, and they parted ways to their respected houses. Gale gave his mother the skinned and gutted rabbits, roasting some meat for tonight and putting the rest in a stew for tomorrow. He set aside the berries and the loaf of bread for the feast tomorrow evening with the Everdeens if all the children made it through the reaping.

After giving each of the children their gifts, he headed to bed. "Gale, is something wrong?" his mother called to him.

"Nope, early to bed, early to rise. Katniss and I are meeting up for some last minute hunting."

"She really is a sweet girl, Gale. It's your last reaping, maybe some good will come of it." She winked, releasing him to bed with his confused thoughts.

Across the Seam, she sat in her bed and thought the same thoughts he did. She wasn't stupid; she heard the whispers at the Hob and at school. She knew the other girls in town would sneer her name because Gale wasn't interested in anyone.

She heard the rumors and whispers, she just chose not to believe them. Gale never gave them a second thought, so neither did she. It was hard to believe that someone as devilishly good looking as Gale Hawthorne would fall for someone as plain as she. And that's what she was when she wasn't in school. She wore plain clothes and dresses, made her hair in the same braid every day, didn't piddle with make up or other novelties that cost money.

But when she was in the woods, she was a predator, they both were. Her every move was deadly for the animals surrounding them. she was lightning fast with a bow, and deadly accurate. But for every quality she listed that made her dangerous, Gale was her equal. His light, sure fingers made death traps for unsuspecting creatures. His mind found the places the snares were most sure to work. He wasn't near as accurate as she was with a bow, but his was always the second shot to help her take down big game.

He completed her as a hunter, it was as a person that she was unsure of.

Her confusion didn't last for long, she soon drifted off, haunted by the Capitol's means of taking away her best friend and the rest of her family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two.  
**He tossed and turned in bed, his confusion mounting. He didn't know why he couldn't get her out of his head tonight, maybe it was a sign of what his mother said. No matter, he had a plan.

He wasn't sure she would agree to it, in fact, it would take a miracle to get her to say yes. But he wanted her happiness, and he knew running would be the only thing to bring it to her. He thought he should wait until after the reaping, it would be too hard to run if either of them were picked, even harder to have to watch her die without being able to change anything. He figured he would leave the decision up to her, which is what it would be any way.

He slept, and for the first time since his father had died, Gale Hawthorne didn't have a dreamless sleep. He dreamed he was chasing her, he couldn't catch her. He kept calling to her to stop crying, that he would protect her. In her anxiety to get away from what was chasing her, she stepped in to one of his snares and was held up by the ankle. He swore and tried to run to it. But he then knew that he was the one she had been running from, _he _was the monster, and he had just trapped her.

He woke in a cold sweat, startled by what he'd just seen. He figured it was just his subconscious reminding him of his fears. He checked his watch lying on his nightstand. 4:30am. _Damn. _He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so he took his time getting dressed and headed to the woods.

He found berries and a few katniss tubers and had a nice breakfast waiting for her to come through the trees. His snare lines had caught all the meat they would need for the next two weeks. But he didn't ask her out here this morning to actually hunt. His real reason was to present her with his plan, and the woods were the only place they could really talk. He looked down at his watch, 5:30. She would be appearing any moment.

She had an uneasy feeling the whole morning. She waited longer than normal to make sure the electric fence wasn't buzzing. She stepped through, feeling as if her every move was being watched. It was, but by him rather than someone who shouldn't.

"Good morning, Catnip." His familiar greeting sent a current through her body, one that made her relax.

"Good morning," she noticed he had already checked the snare lines without her. It was odd to her, but she didn't mention it. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he'd had just about as much sleep as she did. He had enough meat to last them, so why did he call her out here?

He saw the quizzical look on her face and took her hand. He led her to the stream without a word, but he didn't stop. He led her for about a quarter of an hour, to the place where the stream ran to the valley, on a hill where there were mountains as far as the eye could see.

It was beautiful, and it took her breath away just as it did every time she came here. They sat down and he let her eat her breakfast before they had their annual rant against the Capitol. On the day of the reaping, it was their tradition to come to this very spot and rant and rave where they couldn't be heard. It took care of a little stress and made it easier to get through the day's reaping. Afterwards, they would always have a feast of the two families celebrating their children's return home.

After Gale had gotten angry enough about the sick nature of the games, his expression softened. Here was the bombshell he had been waiting to drop. She stared at him, wonder crossing her features. Gale was never this nervous in front of her. Maybe, she thought, he was getting ready to tell her how he felt about her. She started to hope before she silently scolded herself.

"We could do it, you know. Take off, live in the woods."

She scoffs at him, unbelieving that he is trying to get her to run away yet again. He pleads with his eyes, willing her to understand.

"Gale, we can't leave. We have families. You want to start one of your own—"

"But I could. I could start one with you," he interrupts her. His words catch her off balance. His hands to go his mouth wondering if he said the wrong thing, cursing himself for letting the words escape his mouth. His brain starts shutting down, he's desperate for a clever response that he just can't think of.

But she smiled and took his hand from his mouth, his expression changed from one of horror to one of happiness. He took her cheek in his other hand and found her lips, kissing them in a way he's been dreaming about for months.

She broke away, much too soon. "We can't leave. But we can start something for ourselves."

He smiled, taking her hand as he led her back through the woods, back through the fence. He even went as far as to walk her home. He kissed her cheek and said goodbye, asking her to wear something pretty for the reaping.

* * *

He finds her in the square, wearing a dress he doesn't recognize. Her hair is up in a pretty bun, braids woven throughout. He smiles to himself at his beautiful prize. She finds his smile and returns it, unaware that most of the male eyes in this square are trained on her.

He sees Prim, nervous and scared for her life. He looks down at Rory and squeezes his shoulder before kissing him on top of his head and dropping to a knee in front of him.

"Rory, listen. If your name is called, you stand tall. You strut to the stage, you show no emotion. You be a man. That's just what they're looking for." He pulls Rory's face to eye level, "they just want a show. _Do. Not. Give. Them. The. Satisfaction._ Am I understood?"

"Yes, Gale."

He knows his instructions are meaningless. He'd die before he sent Rory into the arena, he would volunteer in an instant. He sends his brother to his place in the crowd before finding his own. He looks to the sixteen year old girl section and finds her. she looks distressed, searching for him. When she sees him, she smiles weakly and sends a message with her eyes. _I can't lose you_.

The vile Capitol woman gets up and introduces herself before reaching into the bowl of all the female names of district 12. But she doesn't call Katniss, she doesn't call Primrose. The name she calls is not Everdeen. In fact, Gale doesn't even know the name of the person called.

He exhales, not realizing he was holding his breath. He looks to her and her features light up—another year safe. Then anxiety and pain cross her face again. The Capitol woman is reaching into the boys names. Gale closes his eyes and prays a Hawthorne isn't called.

And it isn't. Peeta Mellark crosses the crowd and heads to the stage. A merchant's child. Gale darkly predicts he will die in the bloodbath. His thoughts are interrupted as Katniss, Prim, and Rory assault him with hugs.

This was his last one. He is free. He picks up the love of his life and kisses her in front of everyone in the square. She wraps her arms around him and kisses back. He smiles to her as he sits her down, "Let's go home."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three.  
**After the feast at the Everdeen house, there is little to do but sleep. The Hawthorne clan goes home, except Gale. He lingers even after Prim and Mrs. Everdeen succumb to the powers of sleep. He holds her, sitting together on the couch. He smothers her with kisses, so happy that he is finally out of the woods, so to speak.

Once again, he begs her to go with him. He desperately wants to leave and start a family with her. She just smiles in response. She doesn't understand how Gale can just want to drop everything for her, and she can't do it. Maybe if she had her own child to think of, but she doesn't, she has Prim.

They watch the games in the days to come. Peeta surprises everyone by winning. District 12 finally has its second victor. Katniss is oddly relieved, she didn't want Peeta to die, he was such a sweet boy. Peeta was welcomed home by the district, but quickly swept up in matters of the Capitol. They followed his stories on TV until one night, Gale couldn't hide his disgust. "Matters of the Capitol," Gale scoffed. "What a joke."

"What do you mean?" She asked. He looked down at her wondering how she could possibly be that naïve.

"Same thing they're doing with Finnick Odair. He's now a sex symbol." She had quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to think about it anymore.

* * *

As time goes on, Katniss becomes more and more unafraid of her relationship with Gale. She decides he is what she wants, and lets whatever happens, happen.

As the dog days of summer wear on, she takes him to the lake, with the concrete house beside it. The weather suddenly turns ugly, a summer thunderstorm rolling up, as they often do, and the two of them have to take shelter in the house. Gale starts a fire and Katniss begins to prepare one of the squirrels they took down that day.

As Katniss eats, she becomes increasingly aware of Gale's proximity. As Gale eats, he begins to think of how easy it could be if they did this every day, in their own house.

When they finish, they see the storm has no desire of letting up. They curl together on the floor, talking about the future and the things to come. Breaking the conversation, Gale kisses her, and she kisses back. She surrenders to him, letting each kiss and each touch go deeper, giving her body, and his, what it wants.

They mesh together. For a moment, the world doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that their families are starving, that the government just killed 23 teenagers for fun, or even that she is sixteen and he is eighteen. For a moment, all that matters is a man and a woman in love. All that matters is the physical statement of this love that Gale gives to her.

Gale finds his release soon after she finds hers. Now that the act is over, her thoughts become clearer, unaffected by the muddy vision of lust. She smiles at him darkly and asks the question that had been on her lips from the moment they started: "Where did you learn to do that?"

He runs his hands through his hair and answers automatically, "They didn't call me 'King of the Slag Heap' for nothing, Catnip." He immediately looks down, embarrassed and ashamed for finally admitting the dark and dirty truth to her.

She knowingly smiles, not caring about his past. "I was just wondering. Did anything ever mean as much to you?"

"No. You were the first that I ever really _felt_ something emotional."

They smile and fall asleep in each other's arms. Unaffected by the pressing matters of the future, unaffected by the thought of moving too fast. For once, everything in their lives makes perfect sense.

* * *

When they wake, the storm has passed and they hurry back to town with their kills, stopping to get a few unlucky animals here and there along the way. They go to the Hob, hand in hand. Many whispers follow, but instead of the normal speculation, there is congratulations and the awarding of wagers. Gale smiles to himself, wondering now how anyone could have bet against this outcome.

They sit for a bowl of Greasy Sae's soup although it's really too hot for anything. Darius, a peacekeeper, comes to sit beside Katniss. He begins to play with her braid, asking to trade a rabbit for a kiss. Katniss wonders how Darius hadn't heard the rumors of her and Gale, or saw the scene in the square that day. If he had, he wouldn't be tempting Gale like this. He doesn't listen to her telling him no and finally just goes in for the kiss himself.

Gale only sees Darius kiss Katniss and starts to see red. He pulls Darius off his girl and decks him square in the mouth, once, twice, so many times he loses count. People try to pull him off the peacekeeper, but there is only one voice that manages to bring him back from his red haze.

He comes away, ashamed at what he has done. But Darius is more ashamed than Gale, for flirting with someone clearly taken by another man. He apologizes and quickly leaves the warehouse, leaving Gale and Katniss at the center of attention. Greasy Sae winks at Katniss before coughing and yelling at everyone to go back to business.

They trade their kills for coins and things they need before heading back home. Being a Sunday, they really have the choice to do whatever they want before school starts back for Katniss in the morning. She frowns, knowing Gale will have to go into the mines.

He seems to read her mind and grabs her hand, "Did I tell you about the job opportunity I got?"

She frowns even more, "No, you didn't. What job opportunity?"

He runs his hands through his hair and decides to play with her for a bit before telling her. "Well, Catnip, if you're just going to be angry about me not having to go in the mines, I just don't think I'll tell you where I'll be working."

He winks and she fights a smile. "Damn you, Gale. Tell me or so help me, I'll walk to every merchant in town till I find you!"

"Fine, fine. The baker offered me a job. Since Peeta is victor now and doesn't have time, he needs someone to work. I told him I wasn't very good with cakes and baking, but I could do most of the heavy lifting and things of that nature." He lightly punched Katniss on her shoulder, "but he did say if we stopped providing him squirrels, he'd fire me."

She laughs, happy that everything is starting to go her way. The fall passes without any event, save for the weight she's put on. She can't really figure it out, and doesn't spend much time trying, attributing it to overeating the abundant game that's been in the woods lately, and the happiness she's been feeling falling in love with Gale.

But one day after most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, and snow threatens on the horizon, little Prim comes crying from the bathroom to her mother, who quietly explains that Prim has become a woman.

Katniss freezes in the doorway of their small house. She counts, once, twice, again. The numbers don't add up. She thinks back to the summer and fall she and Gale passed in a passionate bliss. She can feel the color drain from her face as she puts her hand on her stomach, remembering each and every time they succumbed to the powers of lust and love. Now that she thinks about it, she's been really moody to Gale lately, she's been sleeping an abnormal amount, and she's gained weight, all to her breasts and stomach…

But there really isn't any way she could be… no, of course not, she thinks. She pushes the thought from her mind and eats her supper and gets ready for her bath. But now that she's thought about it, the thoughts can't stop from entering her mind. She quickly dries off, throws on her coat and shoes, yells to her mother that she'll be back in the morning, and bolts for the Hawthorne residence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**A knock at the door? Gale thinks, it's after eight o'clock. He briefly wonders who could possibly have anything to say this late in the evening when Posy answers the door to a panting Katniss. He looks at her, color drained from her face, hair still wet after her bath. It's almost winter, for crying out loud, surely she knows running around with wet hair in the cold is a recipe for sickness?

He quickly invites her in, eyes searching hers. Something is wrong, he realizes. He takes her back to the room he shares with his brothers, grabbing a warm towel to put around her. "Okay, Catnip. What's so damn important that you had to come running through the freezing ass November cold to tell me?"

His coarse words hurt her feelings, as everything has been for the past few weeks. He had been ignoring it, on his mother's advice. Something about being a woman is taxing on the feelings or something stupid like that.

Tears well up in her eyes and she bites her lips. Normally, Gale hurting her feelings just makes her angry. He kneels before her, taking her hands and looking directly into her eyes. He kisses her cheek before sitting back. He asks again, "What's going on?"

"Gale… do you remember how you said you wanted to start a family together? With.. w-with me?"

Ahh, Gale thinks back to the day he asked her to run away with him, telling her that she would be all he needed forever. He chuckles, "Yes Catnip, I remember."

She opens her mouth to speak and quickly closes it. She does this about three times before Gale realizes he can't stand not knowing anymore. "Katniss, what is it?!"

"I think I'm… well, I'm not completely sure… but I might be…p-p-pregnant."

The bombshell hits him like a ton of bricks, this wasn't anything he had expected before.

Well, that isn't true. He did expect this, but years from now. Not now, with Katniss still eligible for reaping and no home for them. But as he looks into her eyes, he knows she is expecting him to be strong, to find a way out for the two of them. He smiles as he looks into her eyes, "I love you. And I told you I would love you no matter what. Well, this is the no matter what part. And I'm not going anywhere."

His words soothe her as she melts into his arms and spends the night at his side. Once again, his presence is what saves her from the doom of the future.

Eventually, they tell Mrs. Everdeen and Mrs. Hawthorne. The mothers are surprised at the timing, but each admits that it wasn't anything they didn't see coming. Mrs. Everdeen just gives her decree to wait until Katniss is finished with school before they marry, a reasonable request.

Her mother checks Katniss out, determining that she's been pregnant three months, and Gale counts backwards to the beginning of September, the heat of their passion just before school started. His body quivers, remembering the heat of the nights and quickly pushes the thought from his mind. He is a man after all, it's only natural to have such thoughts. It isn't natural to act on them in front of people.

Katniss continues going to school, hunting when she can. Gale works for the baker, doubling his shifts. He knows he will need the extra money for whenever Katniss can no longer hunt.

He begins to train Rory for hunting as well, even though Gale was 14 when he started and Rory is only 13. Katniss argues that she was 12 when she started, so Gale admits defeat and begins to teach Rory everything he knows.

Those few hours in between school letting out and Gale clocking out from work, Katniss takes Rory into the woods and shows him what she knows. She's better with a bow, even while four and a half months pregnant. She teaches him the art of silence in the woods, how to determine animal trails, and her specialty, shooting animals through the eyes.

She is easily winded these days by carrying game, so Rory carries most of it for her. She is grateful and easily agitated with herself for being so weak.

By January, Gale and Katniss begin to spend more and more time together whenever he is off work. Most of the time, he spends the night at her house, cradling her to sleep in his arms. For some reason that she's never been able to explain, she has always felt safe in the arms of the boy with the snares. Most nights are spent discussing names and dreams of what will happen after May. But every night, Gale goes out of his way to talk to his child before bed.

At first, Katniss was embarrassed when Gale would put his face to her slightly protruding tummy. But as time went on, she got used to it and began to look forward to it. Every night, he would start the talk the same way, "Hello pretty baby Hawthorne. This is your daddy speaking." Katniss would giggle and giggle over Gale's baby talk. He would coo and tickle and go on and on about his day.

The first time she feels the baby move, Gale has his hands on her stomach telling her about some customer that came in today. He cuts off his sentence and looks into her eyes. Her grey eyes dance as they both start exclaiming and calling for Prim and Mrs. Everdeen.

As the four of them put their hands on the tiny baby and begin talking in excited voices, Katniss finally puts to bed all of her worries. Her baby is healthy, and he is half of Gale. She finally lets go of her fears and begins to accept the beautiful being that is growing within her as a blessing.

February comes and goes, with the whispers at school getting louder. To the untrained eye, Katniss has merely put on weight under her loose clothes, and the school is buzzing about which Peacekeeper she had to sleep with to get so much food. She considers letting it slip to some loudmouth that she is pregnant with a Hawthorne child, but she doesn't want it to negatively reflect on Gale either. Children out of wedlock is not uncommon in the district, with birth control being so expensive, but she knows she must make it to May before she can stop going to school and get married.

By the first of March, Gale has enough money saved, the product of 40 hour weeks for seven months, that he can keep Katniss when she becomes too big to hunt, which should be any time. Gale scoffs, his definition of 'too big to hunt,' and Katniss's are completely opposite. While she thinks hunting at seven months is acceptable, Gale only worries about her doing something damaging to herself or the baby. Rory is becoming well trained in the art of being a predator as well, so he accompanies her every day to keep her out of trouble.

Midway through March nearing the beginning of her eighth month, Katniss realizes she can't squeeze through the fence anymore. To Rory's displeasure, she sits down and starts crying. Being a boy of only 13, Rory looks around for some kind of answer before holding Katniss till she cries herself out. He walks her home and hunts by himself, bringing in his biggest haul yet.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
**As Katniss sits on her couch waiting for Gale to get off work, she starts crying again. She can handle puking every morning, she can handle hardly being able to keep anything down these days, she can handle the stares she gets at school, and she can even handle being away from Gale for hours at a time. But not being able to hunt is something she's never had to be able to handle, and it saddens her.

She begins devising plans to cut the wires in the fence and hunt anyway, but she knows this is a bad idea. Gale doesn't want her to hunt anyway, and Rory is easily aggravated having to wait for her all the time.

Gale is working hard in the bakery, as he always does. He doesn't frost the cakes or mix anything together. His job is putting pans in and out of the oven and all the heavy lifting Mr. Mellark can't do. It leaves him tired at the end of every day, but he gains muscle mass and the works becomes easier as the months go by.

He usually catches Rory and Katniss coming back from the Hob, looking to swap squirrels for bread with the baker. But today Rory is by himself—fear courses through Gale. He wonders where Katniss and his child are before Rory sees him in the window and smiles. Rory wouldn't smile if Katniss was in danger, so he called to the baker and Rory traded like normal.

As soon as the bakery closes, he walks out the door, finding Rory waiting patiently on the steps. "Hey, Rory. I saw your game bag earlier. Nice haul today."

"Yeah, it was. But that's kind of why I came to talk to you. I did it all by myself today," he beamed, thoroughly impressed with himself. "Katniss has finally gotten too big to fit through. So I walked her home. She cried for a long time. I just wanted to warn you."

Gale smiled and mussed his little brother's hair. He took the Everdeen half of the meat and sent his brother home.

He rustled the bag in the pocket of his hunter's jacket (the only thing heavy enough to keep him warm on crisp March days), and smiled to himself. After Rory stopped by, Gale had wanted to surprise Katniss and told the baker. The baker pointed to a shelf of cookies, saying, "Half price. Tell your brother to bring an extra squirrel tomorrow and we're square." Gale hated handouts, but he figured it was a fair trade and took the frosted cookie home.

As he entered the door, Prim's excited face was the first he saw. She looked behind him, disappointed when she didn't see Rory. But she hugged Gale and he whispered to her that he would bring Rory tomorrow. He handed the rabbits to Mrs. Everdeen so she could start supper and headed down the hall to Katniss's room.

He opened the door and saw her curled in the bed, asleep. Her cheeks were red and the remnants of tears were on her face. He crawled in the bed beside her and kissed her till she woke. "Hello there, sleepy head. I brought you something to cure your bad day."

She smiled as he gave her the little bag with the frosted cookie inside. She gasped, how long had it been since she'd had a cookie? Five, six years? "Gale, honey. This is amazing, but you have to share it with me."

They shook on it and halved the cookie, savoring the sweet, sugary goodness before Mrs. Everdeen called for supper.

The more Katniss and her baby grew, the harder it became to do tedious little things, like sitting in a desk or tying her shoes. Katniss would never take being independent for granted ever again. Gale and Katniss were spending every night together, either at the Everdeen or Hawthorne residence. Gale would help her dress in the mornings, help her put on her shoes, and walk her to school before going to his own job.

The whispers around school had stopped, and the stares began. Not only was Katniss Everdeen, the only girl in school who no one thought would have sex, pregnant, but she was carrying the child of heartthrob Gale Hawthorne, meaning he was finally officially off the market.

Not that any of those girls knew he wasn't really on the market to begin with, but seeing her swell up with his child put the jealousy in full force. Katniss was basically ignored at school by girls who were too jealous to speak and by boys who were too afraid of Gale. The only people in town or at school who would bother to talk to her were Madge Undersee, the mayor's daughter, and Peeta, when he was actually in town.

Madge ignored her pregnancy for a long time until it was blatantly obvious and people were staring daggers into Katniss's back. Madge walked down the hall to her, slipped an arm around Katniss's back and began rubbing her tummy. Katniss had never been more thankful to have a friend.

Prim, Rory, Vick, and Posy were also at Katniss's side through most of the taunting. Rory's months of hunting and lifting heavy game had really filled him out, and Gale had often remarked that looking at Rory was like looking into a mirror.

In the middle of April, Katniss's size was getting to be very uncomfortable. School was over in three weeks, and her mother had predicted she would be delivering in five. She couldn't wait to get her precious baby out of her and into Gale's arms. She often fell asleep with him thinking of the way their child would look in the arms of its father.

She was thinking of this very thing when she almost tripped over her own feet on the way home from school one day. Rory caught her and held her up as she righted herself. "Sorry, Rory. This thing kind of happens all the time now that I can't see my own feet." He had chuckled and said it wasn't a problem.

But one of the merchant's kids had seen the entire thing. He began to taunt Katniss, calling her a whore and a slut, saying it wasn't a wonder that Hawthorne hadn't knocked her or anyone else up sooner, given how easily he'd give it to anybody who opened their legs.

This threw Katniss and Rory over the edge. Prim and Vick used all their strength to hold Katniss back, and fortunately, couldn't hold Rory. He charged the merchant boy and hit him harder than Katniss had ever seen someone hit in her life. When Vick finally pulled him off, the merchant boy resembled a battered tomato. Katniss was proud of Rory for taking up for her, and she thanked him. "Maybe we should go by the bakery and tell your big brother all about it!" He laughed, and the four of them walked arm in arm to tell a proud Gale what his little brother had done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six.  
**School had finally ended and thankfully, Katniss hadn't delivered. She and Gale had begun planning their toasting for a few weeks after the baby was born. So now, all there was to do was wait for the little one to make an appearance. Waiting was torture for Katniss, seeing as to how she was now on bed rest, having gotten too big to do anything.

Every day, her mother would wake her and ask her how she felt, and her answer was the same every day, "Impatient." Her mother laughed and would walk from the room. She would bring books to read, pictures to color, newspapers to read. All equally boring.

Gale worked furiously at the bakery. He wanted to have enough money saved that they would be set for a while in case he needed to take off work. He had also arranged with the baker to be able to take off as soon as possible when word reached that Katniss was in labor.

His thoughts of being a father often made the day spin quickly. He couldn't wait to hold his little girl (his prediction) in his arms. At night, he would get lost in dreams of Katniss and a beautiful baby who looked just like her frolicking through the woods. He imagined a world without a Capitol, without a government that threatened their existence.

Today though, he had a double shift, knowing that soon his baby would be here. another name to add to the list of Hawthornes. He rushed through his work in the morning, trying to get as much as he could done—just in case. It turned out to be for the better, because at 3pm, Posy came running down the street to the bakery.

"Gale! It's time, Gale! It's time! Mrs. Everdeen wanted me to wait as long as we could! You have to come right now!"

With a nod to the baker, Gale scooped Posy in his arms and headed for Katniss's house, never more excited in his life.

Katniss was panting, trying her best to keep her breathing even. Her mother had set her on the table, legs up, with a pillow under her head. Prim was holding her hand and stroking her hair, but she didn't want Prim. "_Where is Gale?_" she nearly screamed. If he wasn't here in time, she wasn't sure she could do this by herself.

At that moment, Gale and Posy burst through the door. Gale's face was lit up like a kid who'd just been given a sugar cookie. He dropped Posy and took three bounds to Katniss's side. He took the position Prim had been, holding her hand and stroking her face.

She squeezed his hand and screamed—she'd never felt pain like this before. It radiated through her body, grabbing hold of every nerve she had, squeezing and burning. She faintly heard his encouragement, she barely saw his smile. She felt pressure on her hand and heard him saying, "Push, Katniss. Push, honey! You're almost done!"

Almost done. Almost? That was something she could relate to. she pushed as hard as she could…the pain just stopped. She closed her eyes and felt Gale let go of her hand. She started to panic, _where is he going?_ Then she heard the cries. She opened her eyes to see the most perfect thing in the world, being held by the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

Her heart swelled, she didn't know she was capable of this kind of love. She stretched her arms, and Gale set her angel baby in her arms and kissed her forehead. He yelled for Posy to go get his family. Katniss briefly thought that Gale could've burst into song and dance with all the happiness glowing from him.

Her mother kissed her cheek, "What are you going to name her, Katniss?"

She looked to Gale. They had decided on a name from Gale's side of the family. His great great grandmother's name, Keegan. Her mother smiled at the name and said it was strong.

She kissed the baby girl's head, "Keegan Hawthorne. Now all you need is your mommy to have the same name and you'll be a perfect family."

Gale swelled with pride as he looked at the two girls who completed his life. He didn't know that his heart could hold more love than it did for Katniss, but seeing this baby girl made him question the boundaries of love. As he looked into her perfect Seam-grey eyes, he knew he would go to the ends of the Earth and back again for this angel, just as he would for her mother.

* * *

The months passed, as they often do. Katniss and Gale had their toasting two weeks after Keegan was born. They moved into an assigned house and began to raise their sweet little family. The Hawthorne's were so happy with their one month old baby girl.

But disaster was on the horizon. Katniss couldn't explain her feeling, but there was always a pit in her stomach when she thought of the pending Hunger Games. She had two more reapings before she could be safe to raise her daughter. As it was, she put on her bravest face, kissed her husband goodbye every morning, and became a mother.

It wasn't a role she had imagined for herself, but now that she held the tiny girl in her arms, she knew that she could never part from her.

May came and went, so did June and most of July. Keegan was growing very fast. But the end of July came Katniss's nightmares of being reaped, this time, to be taken away from her baby girl. She didn't know what she'd do if Prim or Rory were called, but she figured she would have to let the moment carry her into the right decision.

Katniss Hawthorne was seventeen years old, a wife, and a mother. She went into her next-to-last reaping with 30 slips of paper in the bowl. The day before the reaping, she and Gale took Keegan to their spot on the hill to have their annual rant on the Capitol.

Keegan loved to be outdoors. Being just three months old, she laughed and smiled and thrashed about. Katniss couldn't imagine parting with her, and she knew she would have to win if her name was chosen. Just before eleven, they went home to get ready.

Katniss wore the same dress she had the year before, and put her hair up in the same elaborate bun as before. Gale and Keegan just sat watching.

Gale set Keegan in her crib and held Katniss to keep her from crying. "Listen, after today, you just have one more to go. And if you're picked, you can win and we don't have to worry about it again. Katniss, I love you. You can do this."

"I know Gale, I'm just nervous. I can't walk away from the two of you."

The bell rang out from the square—it was time to face the decision.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hello! now, here is where it starts to get close to the original book, but since i haven't had a disclaimer yet:

i do not own the hunger games or the characters.

Now, here is the story. most of it is from Gale and Keegan :) Enjoy and please review! I love the suggestions i've been getting!

**Chapter 7  
**The three of them wait as long as they can before Katniss has to go. She kisses Keegan's forehead and holds Gale tight, she whispers I love you to each of them before signing in and finding her place among the seventeen year olds. As they do every year, Madge holds her hand and they silently pray.

The Capitol woman comes to the podium as she does every year. She introduces herself as Effie, same as every year. She introduces Peeta, the district's newest victor, and Haymitch, the district's oldest victor.

She doesn't waste any time as she goes directly to the bowl with all the female names of district 12. Katniss prays hard yet again that those 30 slips with Katniss Hawthorne remain untouched.

And they do, but another name is called: "Primrose Everdeen," the woman calls out. Her world stops. Of course it's her. Katniss barely realizes what she's doing before she calls out, "I volunteer!"

She barely notices she's being taken to the stage, as her eyes search the crowd for the two people she loves most. Gale has Keegan on his hip, holding her close for dear life. Mrs. Everdeen holds the two of them, all crying.

The Capitol woman is all a-flutter as she exclaims about the first volunteer. She goes on and on about what an honor it is before asking her name. Katniss stumbles out her name, almost emotional seeing her husband cry. "Was that a relative?" the woman asks.

"My sister."

"Well how terrific! Can we give Katniss a round of applause?"

Not one person in the district claps. Gale barely realizes his actions as he locks eyes with Katniss, putting his three middle fingers to his lips and outstretching them to her. Normally, it is a way to say goodbye to a loved one, but as he looks into her eyes, Katniss realizes that it isn't a goodbye. It's an 'I love you.' The rest of the district follows suit, and Katniss is on the verge of tears.

The woman rights herself and reaches into the bowl of boy's names. She calls out a name, but Katniss is only aware that it isn't a Hawthorne—another year safe for Rory. The Capitol woman says goodbye and leads the two of them to separate rooms. Gale and Keegan are the first to burst through. She holds her screaming child and just looks into Gale's eyes.

"Remember, she likes to be rocked to sleep before you put her in her crib. But you should probably sleep with her since I'm not there…Mom will be able to watch her during the day, or your mother…" She trails off, unsure of what to say.

"Katniss, you can do this. You know how to hunt. They just want a good show, that's all they want. Give them one. I love you, and she does too. We'll be waiting here for when you get back." The Peacekeepers come to take her family away, "I love you, Katniss!"

The door slams shut and she sits in silence for a moment. Next is Madge. "I don't have a lot of time," she is shoving something in Katniss's hand. A pendant, with a Mockingjay. "It will keep you safe. Wear it as your district token. Katniss, look at me," she pulls Katniss's face up to hers, "I will _not_ let them starve. They _will_ be taken care of, do you understand me? Do _not _worry about them, you can win. I know you can."

Madge hugs her and kisses her forehead before leaving. Her mother and Prim come in, crying. They tell her they love her and promise to take care of Gale and the baby. They said the Peacekeepers wouldn't let Hazelle in, but she and the Hawthornes love her too. Try to win, we love you.

Before Katniss knows it, she's on a train with the other boy, Peeta, Haymitch, and Effie, steaming towards the Capitol. She eats the supper she's provided with and sits to watch the other tributes from the other districts. She can feel Effie saying how strong she looked for her daughter, but now all she feels is empty.

The announcers go bonkers when Katniss is announced. A mother volunteering for her baby sister, no telling what will happen in the arena once maternal instinct takes over. That's when it clicks—she can win. She has to do it for her daughter and for her family. She turns sharply to Haymitch and Peeta, "I _have_ to win this thing. Tell me what to do."

Haymitch guffaws, "So the little lady just wants to return home, huh?" He starts to laugh some more as Peeta punches his shoulder.

"Haymitch. A mother returning home to her child. We can sell that. We can get her sponsors that way. Katniss knows how to shoot and hunt. _She can win._"

As if mesmerized by Peeta's judgment, Haymitch completely forgets the other tribute in the car and starts helping this mother learn to win.

Gale sits at home. He hasn't let his baby girl out of his arms since Katniss was taken from them. He watches the reapings and before he can stop himself, he's imagining all the different ways each of them can kill his wife. He doesn't notice the tear rolling down his cheek till Posy wipes it away and kisses his forehead.

Mrs. Everdeen, Prim, Hazelle, Rory, Vick, and Posy all fill his tiny home. They all try to swarm him with conversation, some of them try to reassure, but most try to get his mind off of it.

They all offer to stay the night in case he needs something, but he knows all he needs is to be alone with his daughter and wife. Since the latter isn't here, he elects to spend the night rocking his daughter, singing songs that Katniss used to sing.

Keegan is upset, she knows her mother's arms and she knows that Gale isn't Katniss. She begins to cry and Gale starts singing to her once again,

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow,  
a bed of grass, a soft green pillow.  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes,  
and when they open, the sun will rise._

She stops crying, she recognizes the song. He knows his deep husky voice is nothing compared to Katniss's light soprano, but he sings anyway, hoping the song reaches her wherever she is.

_Here, it's safe, and here, it's warm,  
here the daisies guard you from every harm.  
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,_

He kisses his daughter's forehead as he whispers the last line to her, "this is the place where I love you."

Keegan sleeps peacefully in the bed he and Katniss share. All he knows is that it's empty, that half of his heart is gone. All he can think about is how glad he is that she isn't pregnant anymore, and how happy he is that they'd started hunting again right after she'd had the baby.

He finally drifts to sleep to the sound of Keegan's light snores. For the second time since his father died, Gale Hawthorne dreams in his sleep. But instead of some horror taking Katniss from him, he dreams that she won the games, that their family is seated in the lap of luxury. She and Keegan run through the meadow, willing Gale to chase them. He lightly tackles them and rustles through the soft grasses. Katniss kisses him and whispers how she loves him…

His dream doesn't last forever, though. And as he wakes before dawn, he realizes that sitting at home all day with nothing to do won't suit him. He loads up his daughter and takes her to Mrs. Everdeen and Prim. He explains that he has to work, he'll go crazy if he doesn't. Mrs. Everdeen understands and tells Gale to take his time.

When he walks into the bakery, the baker almost tells Gale to turn around and go home. But Gale holds a hand up and goes right into working. The baker takes in the dark circles under Gale's eyes and knows that feeling… so he decides to let him stay and work out his anger on bags of flour.

Katniss also passes the night uneasy. By morning, they are coming into the Capitol and everybody is going crazy over the mother who volunteered for her sister.

She is taken to a prep team who will get her camera ready for the ceremony tonight. Haymitch's last words to her were, "Don't resist. They're trying to help you make an impression. Do what they say."

She is cleaned and waxed and almost torn apart as the team gets her ready to meet her stylist. Cinna is a darker man, whose skin remains untouched by the Capitol, save for his gold eyeliner. Katniss immediately decides she likes him. He tells her how brave she was to volunteer even when she had a baby at home. "I knew Keegan would be in good hands with Gale."

Cinna smiles and takes her hand, "Well I'm here to help you make an impression. The more people whose head you turn, the more sponsor money you'll get. Tonight is crucial." He helped her into the suit for the night, all black. It had a cape on it that Cinna explained would produce an artificial fire. "Now, this won't burn you, at all. When you're in the chariot, I want you to smile and wave to the cameras as if you were smiling and waving to Gale and Keegan back home. Got it?"

She nods and begins to head to the chariot.

…

Gale gets home from work as the chariots are about to set loose. His family is at the Everdeen house, which is not uncommon these days. He takes Keegan in his arms and kisses her, then holds her to the TV to wait for Mommy. Keegan laughs and tries to touch the projection when she sees her, and the entire house goes silent. Katniss is on fire. Literally _on fire._ He feels his face widening into the first real smile he's had in over 24 hours. This will win her sponsors.

The cameras try to spend equal amounts of air time on all of the tributes, but they fail miserably, spending way too much time on Katniss. She smiles and waves right to the camera and Gale realizes it's a smile and wave just for he and Keegan. Keegan waves back to the projection, unknowing that her mother can't see her, Gale wipes a silent tear from his eye. She is beautiful, and no one in the audience can take their eyes off her.

Just before the chariots stop, she blows a kiss and winks to the camera. Keegan starts thrashing around and giggling as Gale reaches up to catch her kiss. This is Katniss's sign; she is thinking of them.

They present the tributes to the President. Even Snow can't take his eyes of the district 12 chariot. All the commentators can talk about is Katniss, dubbing her The Girl on Fire. The anthem is played, Snow greets the tributes, and just like that, Katniss is off the screen again.

Gale takes Keegan back to their house and is happy for his beautiful wife. He sings his daughter to sleep for the second night in a row, hoping the lullaby is good luck.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.  
A/N:** I got the review asking for a little more of Gale's protective side. Had to add it in Chapter 9 tho. But, it'll be posted by today so you'll see it :)  
As always, Please review! I love hearing your thoughts!

* * *

The days pass uneasily for Gale. Keegan, being just a baby, is none the wiser. He knows Katniss is training now, and he hopes to God that she learns something she doesn't already know. Plants, shooting a bow, snares…all of them are good, but he's seen better shooters and better snare-setters lose the games. While at work, he tries to think of what she's doing, if she's missing the two of them. He quickly stops himself—he doesn't want Katniss to be worried about anything other than killing those other 23 people in the arena.

Since he can't really sleep anymore anyway, he and Keegan start staying at his mother's house, it makes it easier since he doesn't have to drop her off anywhere. Every morning before sunrise, he feeds Keegan her bottle, kisses her forehead, hands her to Hazelle, and wakes Rory to go hunting.

It feels wrong without Katniss there, but he knows this is the best way to spend the days without her, and besides that, everybody's got to eat. The mayor has told him when the fence will go on and off every day, and he hasn't been wrong yet. Maybe he feels sorry for Gale and wants him to have an escape, maybe he hopes it will ease his guilt for Katniss being picked. Gale doesn't know, nor does he care. He's just glad to be able to go back to the woods. Gale and Rory are careful to be back every morning before the fence switches on.

After the gutting and the skinning, he washes himself of the animal blood, feeds and kisses his daughter again, and heads to the bakery. He does the most tedious of tasks with slow, accurate precision. The baker notices the way Gale is paying more attention to detail, but he decides not to speak in case Gale is doing it on purpose. He also notices the dark circles under his eyes are getting worse. He wants to give Gale a day off, but he knows that isn't what Gale needs right now.

On the third day of this routine, Gale rushes to the Everdeen house, where he knows his family and his child will be. He holds Keegan close again as they unveil the scores.

The Careers all get Career-like scores and Gale scolds himself. He should have been training Katniss for this, he should have seen this coming. His mother puts her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

When Katniss's face comes up, the whole family holds their breath. Caesar announces an…_eleven?!_ Gale, Keegan, and the rest of the family do dances in the living room, so excited by this news that they forget the feast waiting for them on the table. The screen flickers back to more commentators giving out comments and predictions on each tribute, but Gale doesn't care. _An eleven_! He makes a mental note to ask her what she did, and at Rory and Vick's encouragement, the whole family sits down to feast.

The routine starts to help Gale forget about the more pressing matters of his mind. He finds the day even passes quickly when he realizes he'll get to hear her voice at the interviews tonight. He chuckles, she hates talking to people, and talking to the whole country will likely have her strung out.

He looks at his shoes and pauses in his work. He hopes there is someone there she can talk to, someone she can pick out of the crowd and let the words come easy to. He hopes that she's thinking of him, and he swells all the love in his heart, hoping that she can feel it.

…

Katniss is nervous, so nervous she can hardly walk. She spent half the day practicing her heels with Effie, and the other half learning how to speak to people from Peeta. He keeps awkwardly grabbing her hand, trying to be smooth and comforting. If she wasn't so nervous, she'd swat him away—she is married after all. But she's so nervous about speaking in front of people and getting them to like her that she hardly notices.

By the time Cinna is ready to dress her, she's a wreck. He calms her down and soothes her worries. "It's not hard. Caesar's job is to make you look good in front of all those people—he'll help you out if you let him. When you're talking, I'll be sitting in front of you, all the way to your left. Find me if you find yourself struggling for words." He kissed her forehead and left the room. She was thankful to have a friend here that wasn't trying to break apart her marriage, like Peeta.

Katniss studied herself. She was radiant. The dress was very tight fitting—very unfitting for mother (she smiled to herself as she could almost hear her mother saying that it was too much), but since she was only 17, she decided it was okay—and bright, bright red… almost the color of…_fire?_ She laughed and thanked Cinna in her head for playing up the Girl on Fire thing. She wondered how Gale would like the outfit. That is, if he actually took the time to look at it instead of immediately ripping it off. She blushed as Effie came through the door. "Katniss! You are _perfect!_" It's time for us to go though, dear!"

…

Gale settles in front of the projection screen, his daughter playing in his lap. The interviews are about to start. For the first 22 tributes, Gale just took to playing with Keegan and making her laugh. When Katniss came up, he pushes her to the screen and says, "Look honey! There's Mommy!" She was so beautiful in the dress, but he only thought about that briefly as he imagined tearing it off her in the heat of a passionate moment. He blushes a little before averting Rory's gaze.

Caesar introduced her and invited her to sit down. Katniss was nervous. "So Katniss, I've seen the reaping tape. What a brave thing you did to volunteer for your sister when your daughter isn't even six months old!"

She looked through the crowd, searching for a set of eyes. She found them and her face lit up, Gale was so happy she'd found someone she could open up to. "Yes, Caesar," she smiled. "I knew Keegan would be safe with Gale and I could trust him. I couldn't send my baby sister to the arena though. Family is everything to me, I never abandon family."

The entire Capitol audience sighed, Caesar went on. "Now your husband, Gale Hawthorne. He is a _looker_, huh? How'd you snag him?"

Katniss blushed deeply, "Well, our fathers were killed in the same mining accident. We became best friends and started caring for our families together. I guess we just kinda fell in love along the way!"

Caesar laughed with the Capitol audience. "That really is sweet. Now, Katniss. That outfit you wore the other night—fabulous. Where is your stylist? Where is Cinna? Ahhh, there he is! Cinna, take a bow!"

Gale realized that this Cinna was who Katniss had been looking for. He was glad she picked someone who looked like they had some common sense. Caesar and the camera turned back to Katniss, "the flames were gorgeous though! Everyone in the Capitol envies you!"

She looked to the crowd again and saw something that put a smile on her face. "Well actually, I brought them with me today, would you like to see?"

The crowd went wild as she stood up and spun around. The dress around her literally looked like it was in flames.

Gale didn't know if anyone in the Capitol could hear the buzzer go off, and he didn't care that he couldn't hear anyone on-screen screaming. He and his whole family were dancing for joy for the second night in a row. She was sure to win sponsors and get the things she needed! Gale spun his daughter around and kissed everyone in the house, giving Keegan to Mrs. Everdeen before dancing around with Prim and Posy. He was acting silly, but he didn't care one bit. Gale Hawthorne looked into Katniss's eyes on-screen. She blew him another kiss and he caught it—he smiled as he knew she was coming home.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay! Here is the other chapter i was promising tonight, complete with a little more Gale jealousy that was asked for! I LOVE when you guys give me suggestions on what you'd like to see more of, so keep'em coming!**

* * *

**Chapter 9.**

The tributes were given one more day before they were sent into the arena. Gale decided to work extra for the day, and thought about asking the baker if he could take tomorrow off. He knows he needs it, but he doesn't know if he can handle pacing in front of the projector screen for more than a few hours.

He's hidden in the back, stacking and stocking and taking inventory. The baker handles everything up front. He usually tries not to listen to the mundane conversations of the people rich enough to come to the bakery, but it seems as if his senses are on high alert today.

"Yeah, that Katniss girl. They're all talking about her getting back to her kid, but there's no way she will."

A second boy chimed in, "Yeah. If only she hadn't gotten knocked up by Hawthorne. She'd probably win, and then she'd be open for business in the Capitol."

The first boy sniggered again, "What a fine piece of ass she'd be. We'd have to save for a year just to get it."

More laughing, "Hell yeah. It'd be worth it though." He grunted, and Gale couldn't stand to hear or see anymore.

He charged to the front of the bakery, forgetting everyone who was staring at him, he grabbed the shirt of the boy who had spoken last. He was at least 6 inches shorter than Gale, and not muscular at all.

"If you have something to say about my _wife,_" he spat through his teeth, "Say it _respectfully_." He turned to the other and grabbed his shirt with his other hand, "I'd love to kick both your asses right now, but I think I'll just let Katniss take care of it herself when she gets home."

The boys tremble in Gale's grasp, he knows he must be terrifying. "And if I were the both of you, I'd use my savings to send her sponsor money instead of trying to get in the pants of a married woman."

He then punches the first one across the face, catching the second by surprise and elbowing him in the nose. The first turns back to Gale and gives him a weak punch in the jaw before Gale launches him across the bakery, hitting into a chair as he went. The other just stared at Gale for a few more seconds, unsure if he should help his friend or run for the hills. Gale laughs, because the boys can't be more than 17 years old, much too young to get into a real fight with. He smirks at them, "Get the hell out of here and keep your foul language to yourself." The boys exit the bakery and start running the moment they hit the street.

Gale then turns to the baker and is horrified by what he's done. "I'm so…I'm so sorry. I was going to ask for tomorrow off, but I guess that's out of the question now… I can fix everything."

The baker smiled warmly, "Don't worry about it, son."

"What time should i come in tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about it, Gale. Take the day off."

"I was going to ask, but now i'm kinda afraid to."

"Well if you didn't, I was going to demand that you did. You need sleep, Gale."

He ran his hands through his hair, "It's easier when I don't sleep. There's only so many ways she can die in my dreams before I get fed up and just start staying awake."

"In that case, why don't you do something constructive? If you'll wait here just a moment…" the baker trailed off, running to the back room for something. When he finally came back, he had several books in his hands. "I knew your father was something of an avid reader. These were a few of his that I never got the chance to give back. I've read them over and over—give'em a look. Might help you sleep a little better." He winked and shooed Gale out the door. Gale turned to wave as the baker called his name a last time, "Son," he winks, "I would've reacted the same way."

Gale goes home and eats supper with his family. He feels a hole in his heart, missing the only person who could make this complete. He play wrestles with Vick and Rory, just like always. He reads Keegan and Posy a story about princesses and being rescued by the prince. Halfway through the book, Gale hears his voice break. He knows he should be rescuing his princess from the dark dragon called the Capitol.

Posy hears his emotion and turns to him, "There isn't anything you can do, Gale. She will come home. I know she will." Posy turns back to her book and is asleep within minutes. Gale feeds his daughter her nightly bottle and takes her to their bed to sing the lullaby.

If Katniss stays alive, he will sing the lullaby every night to keep her safe. Just as every night before, he whispers the last line into his daughter's cheek, hoping her mother can hear it too, "here is the place where I love you…"

…

For the first time since Katniss has left, she feels complete. She knows that Gale and Keegan were watching, and she knows Gale would see her blowing kisses and know they were all for him.

As she crawls into bed, she realizes that tomorrow begins the most trying days of her life. She knows that one mistake could be fatal in the arena. But she knows her husband, daughter, and her baby sister are safe, and that is enough.

As she looks to the left side of her bed, she sighs. Gale always slept on her left and she misses him more than ever. The past few months of waking every few hours with the baby make it impossible for her to get a good night's sleep, but she knows this will help her once she's in the arena. For now, she pulls one of the larger pillows to her left side and puts her arm over it. She begins to hum the melody she sings to Keegan every night, finally giving up and singing the words softly.

_Here, it's safe, and here, it's warm,  
here the daisies guard you from every harm.  
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,_

Her voice starts to bubble over with tears, and she can't even finish the last line. She looks to her window and hopes Gale is watching the same stars she is. She thinks the last line in her head, sending them the thousands of miles to wherever he is, "here is the place where I love you."

In the morning, Effie wakes a groggy Katniss. She is taken aboard a hovercraft, then deep underground below the arena. The Peacekeepers plunge her into a room with Cinna. He smiles to her as he pins the Mockingjay on her jacket and kisses her forehead. They sit holding hands until a voice tells her to enter the tube. Cinna smiles and winks to her, "If I was allowed to bet, I'd bet on you, Girl on Fire. Go win this for your family."

As the tube rises to the surface, she takes in her surroundings for the required sixty seconds.

She looks around her and smiles.

In the control room, Haymitch and Peeta look to each other and smile.

Watching silently in the square, Gale smiles too. This woodsy arena was built for Katniss.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10  
**As Gale sees the bird's eye view of the arena, he can't help himself from breaking into an ear-to-ear grin. He looks to the Everdeen and Hawthorne families—each of them is smiling too. They know what he does: Katniss will probably feel more at home in this arena than she does in the woods of district 12.

The seconds start to wind down and Gale holds his breath. He can't tear his eyes away from the screen with her face, so he listens to see if the rest of the square is making a sound—they aren't. His chest swells with pride as he realizes how much everyone here cares about her safety. Keegan starts to giggle when she sees Katniss on the huge screen. He points and says, "Yes, baby girl. That's Mommy!"

5… he sees Katniss eye something near the cornucopia.

4… the camera zooms in on it; a bow.

3… he sees her jaw set and knows what she is thinking. She wants to go after it.

2… "NO KATNISS!" he knows she can't hear him, but he screams it anyway.

1… her eyes flirt to the woods and he realizes she's thinking of her family.

0… she hesitates. He sees her eyes narrow and knows she's pissed she missed her chance. She settles for a backpack 5 feet to her left and sprints for the woods.

When she clears the tree line, he picks up on screams, shouts, applause. He turns and sees the entire district cheering her on. Several of the people he knows come and clap him on the back, congratulating him on her living through the blood bath. He numbly accepts, forcing smiles and Thank Yous. Thankfully, Mrs. Everdeen starts to excuse him to the house, saying that it's time for Keegan's nap. Hazelle and the kids start to take all the thank yous and hugs from the various people while Gale, Keegan, Mrs. Everdeen, and Prim escape to their house.

Before they reach the house, Gale starts to feel the tears start. He hands the four month old to Mrs. Everdeen before he heads to somewhere he can be alone. The tears start to flow as he watches the screen in front of him. He misses her so bad that it hurts. He's had to be strong for so many people that he finally begins to break down.

20 year old Gale Hawthorne, strong, proud father, begins to cry. It isn't the few tears he's spouted here and there along the way, this is a need for blowing off emotions. He can't remember the last time he cried like this. He doesn't even notice when Prim comes in and wraps her arms around him comfortingly. He breaks from Prim and looks into her red-rimmed eyes. _She's had to be too strong, just like me_, he thinks. He and Prim just hold each other, crying for the dark headed girl they both need to come home. Eventually, after they have cried themselves out, Mrs. Everdeen comes in and says it's time for supper.

Over the next few days, Gale settles in to his routine. Wake early, check the screen for Katniss, hunt with Rory, wash up, check the screen, feed Keegan, head to the bakery, check the screen fifteen times, rush home, check again, feed Keegan again, eat supper, check again, play with the other kids, check again, go to sleep.

Every day, he is disappointed when he discovers nothing has happened. He guesses that's a bit of luck though—seeing her would mean something bad has happened. The commentators have discussed what all she had in her pack, and how dangerously close she was to dehydration. Other than that, they don't really comment on Katniss at all until the Career pack trees her.

It happens while Gale is at work. To be nice, the baker keeps the television with the games on full-time, just in case something happens. His only condition was that Gale didn't continuously sit in front of it, to which he happily agreed.

He is stacking 100 lb bags of flour when he hears her name come from a commentator's mouth. All of his senses become twice as desperate to hear what they say next, "Katniss Everdeen, stuck in a tree with the entire Career pack beneath her after outrunning those deadly fireballs! What a bit of unfortunate luck! She will have to come up with something great to get out of this one."

He drops the sack in his hand and is in front of the TV in three seconds. The baker comes and puts his hand on Gale's shoulder, "She'll be okay, son. She's smart. She's had to escape being cornered by wild animals before."

Gale tries to use this fact to comfort him, but it doesn't. "Animals don't _think_, sir. They react."

"Well then," he smiles, "she's going to have to do something to pry their instincts out of them, won't she?"

Gale watches her in the tree for another 30 minutes, and the recap of the fire balls, before he decides it will take her a little while to think of something. The cameras realize this too, and they start going back and forth to the remaining tributes.

45 minutes before Gale is set to clock out, just before the sun is setting in 12 and in the arena, Katniss sees little Rue from District 11. Gale groans, she's so much like Prim that he knows Katniss will try to win her alliance, and he's not sure she can bear to kill the little girl. They're pointing to something in the trees, and Rue makes a sawing motion. Gale and the baker look confusedly at each other before the camera zooms in on a tracker jacker nest. Gale swears out loud, she'll get stung for sure if she tries to cut it down.

But it's either cutting it down and risking a few stings or Cato figuring out how to scale the tree by morning.

The baker puts his hand on Gale's shoulder again, "Run home, son. Go hold your daughter." Gale doesn't have to be told twice.

…

Peeta and Haymitch look at each other in the control center, unsure of what to do. "Well, kid," Haymitch begins, "we have two options. We can either send her the burn medicine and hope she figures out the leaves for the stings, or assume she doesn't have a clue and send the tracker jacker medicine. But either way, she's going to have injuries that risk getting infected."

Peeta thinks for a moment, although Haymitch is older and wiser, Katniss is technically Peeta's tribute, so he gets the final say. "What about that little girl? Rue? She's from 11, she'll know about the leaves, right?" Haymitch nods, "she was headed toward an alliance with her anyway. Let's send the burn medicine."

In less than five minutes, the button is pressed and Katniss receives her parachute. She smiles her thank you and begins to apply it generously. She nods to Rue and starts to cut down the nest while the Careers sleep on.

…

Gale makes it home just as she finishes applying the burn cream. With the nod, she takes out the only knife she has and starts to saw the branch. She takes three stings, and Gale feels every one as if they are stinging his own flesh. When the branch finally breaks, hell breaks loose as the careers begin screaming, freaking out, and thrashing to get away. They follow their instinct to run, and Gale smiles, seems like the baker was right. Only one is left behind, and Gale turns his daughter away from the screen as the girl from 1's body swells up and she dies.

But, Gale looks closer, this was the girl with the bow! He starts jumping up and down as he yells at Katniss to take the bow, as does the entire family. He can tell she is feeling the venom, but she recovers enough to grab the bow and find a hiding spot so she can wait out the venom's power.

She tries to sleep it off, but Gale can see that it is affecting her more than she thought it would. He can only imagine the horrors of whatever she is seeing, and judging by her whimpers, it is centered primarily on him and Keegan, which Gale and Rory dub as a good thing. Mentioning her family again should earn her more sponsor money.

"I went to the Hob this afternoon, Gale," Rory says, "Ripper and Greasy Sae have started a collection for money to send to her. Something about Cray can have it sent directly to the Capitol for her."

Gale smiles genuinely for the first time all day, "Really? Guess we better give her our savings then."

The television goes off and everyone decides to get some sleep, Gale especially. It's been a rough day for him and he knows she will be safe while she's asleep and the Careers recover too. He takes his daughter to bed, rocking her and singing the familiar lullaby to keep his love safe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When Gale wakes, he sees that sometime in the night, Rue put some kind of leaves on Katniss's stings. The commentators explain that this sucks out the tracker jacker venom and will help Katniss heal, the leaves should also make her sleepy while they work.

Since she will be asleep for a few hours, and since it's Sunday, Gale decides to start doing odd jobs around the house, nothing too strenuous or complex, just things that have been on his to do list for a long time. He knows he'll be just a few minutes away if something happens, and it gives him something to do besides watch Keegan sleep.

He starts at his own house, where Rory and Vick spent the night with him and Keegan. The roof had been leaking lately, and Katniss had been begging him to fix it, so he started with that, then going inside to fix the sink, to his mother's to fix a broken door hinge, and to the Everdeen house to patch a leak in their roof. It took him almost four hours of pure manual labor. He had sweat through his clothes by lunch time, but he felt proud of himself for really accomplishing something besides feeding everyone.

He comes in to eat lunch, Rory already having gone hunting and Vick watching the baby. They feast on squirrel before Keegan gets her bottle. After she's full, Gale burps her and puts her down for her nap. He comes back into the kitchen to see his two smiling brothers, "What guys?" he asks, "With Katniss gone, I had to get good at being a parent somehow." They laugh and Gale easily smiles.

"Gale, I was actually going to tell you something I found out yesterday." Vick was always quite the reader, and Gale had noticed he'd been pouring over his books since the games started.

"What is it, bud?"

"Well, you know how they've nicknamed Katniss 'the Girl on Fire?'" Gale nodded, and gestured with his hands for Vick to go on. "Well, I knew that Keegan was a named passed through the family because of what it meant. I remembered Dad had told me after grandma passed away. So, I've been searching for the meaning."

"Alright, Vick. What'dya find?"

"Keegan is an ancient word that pre-dates Panem. It means, 'tiny little fire.'"

Gale looked at his little brother and smiled. This was perfect. They had unknowingly played into the whole Girl on Fire thing. This would be great when they did the final eight interviews of the family. He could play it just right and earn her more sponsors.

Rory turned to the screen and mentioned for the other boys to look as well. Katniss had woken up, finally, and noticed the leaves on her skin. She was startled, unaware how she had ended up like this. But then she heard a rustle in the tree above her, she smiled the same warm smile she always gave Keegan. "Rue? Are you there?"

The small slender girl jumped down from the tree and smiled at Katniss. "Don't take the leaves off, they suck out the venom."

Katniss rubbed her head, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Not very long," the girl replied, "the boy from 8, the girl from 9, both from 10. And I think that's all you missed."

"That's not very much. Has anyone came by?"

"No. I went to spy on the Careers though. I think the boy from one has a thing for you." She smiled, playing with Katniss.

Katniss shrugged and went hunting, taking down two squirrels and roasting them before nightfall. The girls stuffed themselves, little Rue's face lighting up when she realized she could have the entire thing.

…

Haymitch was asleep, which left Peeta one of about 3 in the mentor's room who was still awake. Finnick Odair, a victor from 4, and Johanna Mason from 7, were crowded around him trying to give advice. Not that Peeta was listening, he was at war with himself.

Katniss was a married woman, and he'd never had a chance. He had won the games, for her, and she didn't even notice. He doubted she'd even batted an eyelash at anybody except Hawthorne. He was furious because he'd even tried to hold her hand while trying to coach her, but he couldn't help himself. She was so close and just so lovely.

He sighed again; Gale Hawthorne could kick his ass without thinking twice. And with the way Peeta's thoughts were going tonight, he deserved it.

There were just nine tributes left in the arena tonight. Only one more needed to die before they'd do the interviews of people from back home and he'd have to hear it all over again.

Poor Katniss, being forced away from the family she so loves. Poor Gale, having his wife taken. Poor Keegan, not that she really knows the damn difference right now.

Peeta felt awful for having these thoughts. If he had really loved Katniss, he would be doing everything in his power to help her win, and that included playing up the angle with her family.

Haymitch had advised him to call Gale, since mentors were allowed to call families in case a certain approach was needed on the interview. Peeta had put it off and put it off, but he knew Gale would be able to continue with the family thing, even if Peeta didn't call him.

With Katniss standing watch for Rue, he calculated what time it was in 12 right now. He figured Gale would be awake and dialed the numbers.

…

The phone was ringing. Odd. Nobody ever called Gale. The only reason he'd had the stupid phone put in anyway was because the baker had insisted. Something about being so far away, there was no need to walk that far in snow or rain to find out the bakery was cancelled. Gale had accepted, but only because the baker gave him a slight pay raise in order to have the phone installed.

The phone kept ringing, so he hurried to answer it before it could wake Keegan. "Um, Hello?"

"Gale? This is Peeta Mellark, Katniss's mentor. With the way things are going, they'll be doing the family interviews tomorrow. I just wanted to call and chat about it."

Chat? Since when did Gale ever _chat?_"

"Uhh, okay. Just what did you have in mind?"

"Well," Peeta sighed, "they're still playing the family thing really big in the Capitol, so I suggest you linger on how great of a mother Katniss is. And since the Girl on Fire thing is big here too, you may wanna mention that."

"The family thing won't be a problem, Peeta. Keegan misses her, and I do too."

"I know, I'm doing everything I can here."

"You're damn straight. And you better be doing more than you think you can. That's my wife. I want her back home." Gale was starting to get emotional again, so he quickly switched topics. "My family and I discovered something yesterday that you may want me to mention tomorrow."

"What's that?"

"Well, Keegan is actually an old family name that's been passed down for its meaning. My brother found what the meaning was."

"Okay, well what is it?"

"Tiny, little fire."

On the other end of the line, Peeta smiled. Getting Katniss home was going to be a little easier than he thought.

…

As Katniss took the watch for Rue, all she could think about was her family. She missed Gale so much that it physically hurt her. She pulled Rue close, hoping that the warmth of another person would temporarily cure her of missing Gale. She sighed, knowing that it wouldn't help at all, if anything, it would make her miss him more. Since the temperature was dropping rapidly, she pulled Rue close anyway. Rue shivered a few times before she woke up.

"Rue, why aren't you still asleep? I told you I could keep the watch all night since I slept the last two days."

Rue smiled, still drugged from sleepiness. "I just can't sleep is all."

"Well, why don't I sing you a song?" Rue nodded, and Katniss began to sing Keegan's lullaby.

The mockingjays around them fell silent while listening to her sing.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow,  
a bed of grass, a soft green pillow.  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes,  
and when they open, the sun will rise.  
Here, it's safe, and here, it's warm,  
here the daisies guard you from every harm.  
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,  
here is the place where I love you._

When she finishes the last line, she puts her three middle fingers to her lips and stretches them high above her head. She knows the cameras are watching, and she hopes Gale is too. She hopes he let their daughter watch her sing the lullaby, and hopes she fell asleep to it. Just before the mockingjays stop repeating her melody, she whispers to no one, "I love you, Gale."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I know you guys are kind of tired of Gale missing Katniss, so i'm trying my best to speed it up and get her out of the arena! All in good time, my friends :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Keegan was fast asleep in her cradle, and Gale was sitting on the bed he shared with Katniss, crying. He was almost ashamed at how much of that he'd been doing lately. After Rue fell asleep, Gale had told his brothers to go home, he and Keegan were okay for the night. After much of Rory's protests, the boys were sent home with promises of bringing their niece to see them in the morning. Gale had smiled at the love his brothers felt for his daughter.

But seeing Katniss sing Rue to sleep was one reason Gale was glad he sent the others away. He had rocked the baby until she was asleep with tears rolling down his face. He had seen her salute, and had saluted back, knowing she couldn't see him. And as she whispered the words, Gale had breathed them back.

It almost made him sick to know he was distracting her in the arena, but she had been gone over a week—he missed her. This was the ninth night he had spent without her, only four of those having worried about her life and death, but he still ached, they hadn't spent this many nights apart since Katniss found out she was pregnant.

Since he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, he pulled out some of the books the baker had given him. All of them had belonged to his father, and each of them had his crisp handwriting on the title page. Usually his name and a summary about the book.

Inside each of them, there was an inscription to each of the Hawthorne children. At first, Gale was angry that the baker had kept these from him, but then he realized that the baker probably hadn't even realized these notes were here, or he would've given them back.

The book for Rory was called _Macbeth_, and it was one guy's struggle for power and how it destroyed him. Gale didn't bother reading the inscription because he didn't want to invade on his brother's privacy.

Vick's book was called _The Illiad_, and it was about a war fought over a beautiful woman. His father had included the ending in the summary—which was probably why he chose it for Vick—one side had tricked the other, and it was often regarded as the best military offense of all time. Gale smiled when he realized how well his father had known his children.

Posy's book wasn't as thick as everyone else's, but she had still been in the womb when her father died. Gale quickly gathered it was about knights and princesses—easily appeasing either a baby boy or a girl. His father had included inscriptions for both a son and a daughter.

Gale finally stumbled across his book in the huge pile. _Romeo & Juliet_, and it was by the same guy who wrote Rory's. Intrigued, Gale opened the pages and read the summary before reading his inscription. It was about a man and woman from opposing families who fell in love at first sight, eventually sacrificing everything to be together in death. Gale was confused at why his father would choose such a book, but he turned the page and saw his name written in his father's handwriting.

_Gale,  
My son. I'm so proud of the young man you have become. Just barely turned 14 and you are already a man in so many ways, so much more than I had been at your age. You have your grandfather's (on your mother's side) strong jawline and I know you will inherit the Hawthorne broad shoulders. Your grey eyes and dark hair may give you a "Seam" look, but don't worry, you'll attract all the ladies just like your old man. _

_Son, I'm giving you this book because I know your outlook on love and I know that you feel as if love will never be worth it. But it is, my son. Gale, your mother is the most wonderful person I have ever met. I hope someday that you will see someone as I see her. I know you feel as if there isn't anything more to life than setting a snare and being in the woods, but someday there will come a girl who will provoke that smile out of you that the woods do. And when you find that girl, do not ever let her go. _

_Never settle for someone who doesn't set your life ablaze. Never settle for a girl who just fuels your physical desires. Find the girl who sets your heart on fire, who lights up your soul with the fires of compassion. Never settle for less. There isn't enough time in this life to not settle for the person that changes you into someone beautiful, inside and out._

_In fact, I think you may have already developed a crush. But don't worry, I won't tell the girl, nor her father. I know you like the way she sings, so you won't say anything. In fact, it will probably take you years to meet her, but that's okay. You will when the time is right, and you'll also fall in love when the time is right too._

_I love you, Gale. I hope this book illuminates the things you will desperately search for in life._

_Love always,  
Dad_

Like he had earlier in the night, Gale started to cry. His father knew just what to say, and he had been dead all these years. He was right though, Gale's biggest problem had always been making love a priority…up until he fell in love with Katniss, that is.

He thought back to those days spent in the woods with his father. One day, he had heard the mockingjays start to sing back a rhythm, but it couldn't have come from them. He had looked to his father, who just smiled on. They followed the sound through the trees until they came upon a young girl and her father. They were singing a song to the birds, and the birds were singing back. Gale knew the two couldn't see them, so he inched closer to figure out who the girl was.

He hadn't fallen in love yet, he was only 13. But he was entranced by Katniss's voice and the harmony it made with her father's. Love was nonexistent to him. He hadn't realized he was in love with Katniss until six months before Prim's first reaping.

Gale was very confused at his father's mention of fire. He wasn't sure if it was a sign from the great beyond, or mere coincidence, but he didn't want to find out if it was one or the other. The mystery of it all gave him an odd peace. Gale really didn't know what to do now except try to read the book in hopes that he'd fall asleep.

He drifted off after finishing the first act, sleeping peacefully since the first time his wife had left.

He woke later in the morning, since he hadn't been planning on hunting, and turned on the projection as he was feeding Keegan. He noticed that some other tribute had died in the night, so he called down to the bakery to tell the baker there were eight people left, and he knew what that meant.

The tributes would be given a peaceful day today, and tonight their families would be shown in interviews. Gale sneers, thinking it's just another form of entertainment, to get attached to a tribute and then watch them die in front of you.

It sickened him.

Just as he thought, about 10 AM, someone knocked on his door looking for Mr. and Miss Hawthorne, family of Katniss Hawthorne.

Gale smiled, thankful that he had cleaned house yesterday and showed in the prep team.

…

Cinna is so happy to finally meet the boy who captured Katniss's heart. He introduces himself properly and explains what he did for Katniss.

Gale shakes his hand, "We can't thank you enough. You helped her make an impression and be liked by all those people."

"I just told her what to wear and where to stand. The rest came from her."

Gale's heart swells a little as Cinna explains what they're going to do. "Obviously, I won't let them touch your daughter, she's too precious to try to make up or anything. And for you, well, you're basically camera ready. What we'll do is present the two of you together, since she's only four months old. You'll answer the questions, the baby will coo, and everybody will think of how great of a mother Katniss is. Got it?"

Gale nods, "but what questions will they ask?"

"Nothing too hard," Cinna replies, "When you married, how you met. Just stuff that'll make people like her." His eyes darken, "say things that'll make them regret it if she dies."

Gale decides he likes Cinna a lot.

The interviewer is a seemingly plain woman from the Capitol. She makes Keegan cry twice before she catches sight of Gale, and then begins to furiously hit on him. Gale doesn't really care, it isn't the first time someone has hit on him since he and Katniss got pregnant, but this woman is insistent, and clearly doesn't see the ring on his hand.

Once she grabs his bicep and starts to ooh and ahh over how big it is before Gale grabs her hand harder than he should have. "Listen, you're very pretty and all, but I'm married. I love that girl more than anything. If you aren't here today to try to help her, then get the hell out of my house and don't come back."

The woman looks like she could cry, and Gale feels the color drain from his face in the belief that he hurt her, but she quickly gets the message and leaves the room, grumbling as she goes.

Cinna comes back a few moments later, "I saw what happened. As soon as she left the room, I ask that she be escorted back and we get someone a little more professional out here." He smiles, and Gale smiles back, happy that someone is on his side.

For the interview, Keegan is in a black onesie with red and yellow stripes on it. Gale is just dressed in a black dress shirt and pants.

The man interviewing introduces himself, but Gale doesn't really notice until he mentions Katniss's mentor. "Peeta called me this morning, I know all the highlights he hit when he was talking to you, and I'll be sure to cover them all." The man winked, and Gale smiled again. He liked that this many people were on her side.

The camera set up, Gale, Keegan, and the interviewer sat down, and the red light came on to indicate recording.

The man spoke, "Hello, Panem! I am John Templesmith, coming to you from District 12 in the home of Katniss Hawthorne. Here with me today is her husband, Gale, and their four month old daughter, Keegan." Gale caught Cinna's eye, Cinna pointed to his mouth and mouthed, _smile_.

Gale flashed a brilliant smile as the interviewer turned to him, "Gale, why don't you tell us how you and Katniss met?"

Gale's smile vanished, he knew he couldn't tell the real story without getting her in trouble, so he decided to lie.

"Our fathers knew each other pretty well, they worked in the mines together. After the accident that killed them both, I saw Katniss in the Seam one day and asked her if she needed a friend. After that, we pretty much became inseparable. We were best friends for four years before we fell in love."

The interviewer grinned, "What a cute story. Now, why'd you decide to get married at such a young age?"

Gale felt himself blush and held tight to his daughter, "Well, after we found out we would soon be blessed with a mouth to feed, we decided to get married. We were generally headed toward that direction anyway, but it was nice to have the piece of paper and the ring to seal the deal. We would've never found any one else anyway. We love each other, and it's basically been destined since I was 14 and she was 12."

Everyone in the room sighed, and Gale blushed deeper. The interviewer continued, "So what's so special about her, Gale? Why was she 'the one'?"

"Well, most of the time, in all the books I've ever read, it's really easy for someone to point out qualities that they love about another person. But with Katniss and I, it's a little bit harder to do that. It's not that she doesn't have the qualities, it's just the little things she does that proved to me she was the one for me."

"Like what?"

"The way she puts her family over everything else. No matter what she's feeling in that arena right now, I know Keegan and I are at the back of her mind because she wants to come home to us, she keeps giving us little signs to prove it. And I wish I could tell her she's at the forefront of mine, every day. The things that make Katniss the one for me? I couldn't tell you. I just know that it was fate that brought us together that day, some higher power saw something in the two of us that just clicked. And I don't know what it is about her, but I love her more than anything. Except maybe my daughter."

Another sigh from the room. "That brings me to my next question, how did you decide on the name Keegan?"

This was what Gale had been waiting for. He ran his free hand through his hair before he started. "Keegan is actually a name that's been passed down through the Hawthorne family for a very long time. It was intriguing because of its meaning, which is something I didn't learn until yesterday at the hands of my younger brother, Vick."

"And what's interesting is how well it seems to fit with what's going on right now. Keegan actually means 'tiny little fire.'"

Gale smiled and let his words sink in to the people around him. He looked at the interviewer, "Well there you have it folks. The Girl on Fire is aching to get home to her own flame and her 'tiny little fire.'"

He signed off and switched off the camera before shaking Gale's hand. Cinna came over to tell him how wonderfully he did. He held Keegan, shook Gale's hand, and like everyone else, he was gone, leaving Gale to an empty house and a lot of memories of his wife.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Alot of feels in this chapter D:  
Sped it along ALOT, so i hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what else you'd like more of!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Peeta was almost sick from watching the interviews. He knew it was what was best for Katniss, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Gale had played the mourning husband perfect, and the little bit about the daughter was also perfect. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it was fine.

They were going to give the tributes two hours of peace and quiet while they showed the interviews. Since they were prerecorded, if some action started to happen, they'd pause the interviews and come back to them when things were quiet again.

That day, Katniss and Rue decide to go hunting a little more, Peeta watches them from the screen, wishing he could talk to her. After the interviews tonight, Katniss should be set to receive anything she asks for because of how much sponsor money she should get.

It's like the cameras know this too, because they're spending a lot of time on her and Rue today. One zooms in and the volume turns up, hoping to hear their conversation.

"Do you miss him?" Rue asks.

"Gale? Yes…I miss him more than anything."

"I didn't think it was fair, when I saw your reaping tape."

Katniss smiles softly, knowing she has to carefully choose her words, "It's really not. They are punishing us for something that happened 75 years ago. It isn't our fault that our great, great," she tickled Rue, "_great_ ancestors decided they didn't like the way things were."

Rue's eyes darkened, "No, it isn't fair. I mean, I'm only 12 years old. When I was picked, everybody just felt sorry for me… because a 12 year old getting picked is basically a death sentence."

"I'm sorry, Rue. It shouldn't have happened this way for you."

Peeta never knows what Rue says in return, because the cameras turn off, instead focusing on a group of Careers downstream from Rue and Katniss. The boy from 1, the boy from 2, and the girl from 4 are all that's left of them. Peeta wants to scream, he wants to tell them to run, but he can't. He can't do anything except watch helplessly.

He then watches the boy from 1 break off after a knowing look at Cato. As soon as Cato and the girl clear the trees, he slices her neck, signaling the cannon.

Katniss decides that she wants to go ahead and hunt more, having an uneasy feeling about tomorrow. Rue climbs a tree and teaches Katniss a whistle to signal that they're okay.

Katniss takes down three squirrels, and whistles back to Rue a few times before she hears the screams, "Katniss! KATNISS! KATNISS HELP ME!" She takes off in the direction of the screams, terrified of what she'll find.

Peeta looks down and clicks the screen to Rue's face. He then sets down his screen, afraid to start crying in front of a room full of people.

…

Gale heard Rory and Vick's calls from outside where he was gutting squirrels. The calls got more and more distressed, so Gale dropped what he was doing and sprinted for the living room. His eyes focused on the screen as Katniss found Rue with the spear through her stomach. The boy from district 1 already had an arrow through his heart as he tried to apologize.

"I'm…s-s-sorry. Cato's plan…I couldn't let him…just let me kill you, please."

"Hush up before I send another one through your eye!" Katniss spit at him.

"You were so b-b-beautiful, Girl on Fire…I w-wish I could be your husband…the one w-waiting for you"

Katniss continued to glare at him, "Gale would never murder an innocent person in cold blood." She fired another arrow through his neck, and the boy was dead in minutes.

Rue continued to sputter, "K-katniss. Will you sing for me again? It was so beautiful…"

Just like before, Katniss sang the lullaby. At home, Gale sang it with her, and the two of them whispered the last lines together, as if they were singing Keegan to sleep. Gale held Vick's hand as the two of them cried shamelessly, with Rory shedding the occasional tear. The screen turned off promptly after Rue's cannon.

By the time the interviews played that night, they were down to four people left in the arena. The boy from 2, the boy from 11, the girl from 2, and Katniss.

As Katniss tied herself in a sleeping bag on a branch, she wondered if the cameras were still on her. Whether they were or not, she didn't care. She touched her three middle fingers to her hand and outstretched them to the moon in the arena.

Gale smiled as Katniss set her jaw; there was no way she was going to let anyone else come out of that arena except her.

…

Peeta saw the salute, and on his screen of the whole arena, he knew what it meant. Katniss had just targeted herself, the Gamemakers were coming after her now. He saw the fire at the edge of the arena, and it was coming right for her. Peeta looked at Haymitch and saw his own horror reflected in the other's face. Peeta's voice was very small as he asked, "What do we do? What can we do?"

"There's nothing we can do," Haymitch said sullenly. "There ain't a damn thing we can do."

…

Cato stands at the other end of the arena from Katniss, he doesn't know that, but the audience at home does. All he wants is to find Thresh and the Girl on Fire. He doesn't even care if he wins as long as they die.

It pisses him off that Marvel took such a liking to her. In Cato's opinion, there wasn't a damn thing to like. She was scrawny, over confident, and apparently a whore. Children out of wedlock were a shameful thing in district 2, everyone had a condom or a birth control shot. He smiled, just another way 2 was better than every district. He couldn't believe that dumb ass Marvel had tried to defend her. Cato didn't give a shit if they couldn't afford birth control in 12.

Marvel had started to become weak, Cato was glad he was dead. He had started to fall for the Girl on Fire, and Cato knew love made a man weak.

Like Glimmer. Cato had thought maybe in another time, another place, Glimmer would have fallen in love with him. And he might have fallen for her, but love made one weak in this arena. That oaf Mellark had almost died last year because he'd thought too hard about his 'love' back in 12.

He looks at the tree line and sees smoke. Fire on the horizon, maybe the Girl on Fire was too. He chuckled and started to take a step that direction, but he then figured the game makers were bringing the girl and Thresh to him. He wasn't very worried about Clove. She'd had some bad wounds that would infect and kill her anyway, he knew all the district sponsor money was going to him, so they'd send her nothing.

He readies himself for the battle to come.

…

The fire makes Katniss run harder than she has in her life. She knows what the gamemakers are pushing her towards, and she can't find herself going in any other direction. She runs, runs, runs in front of the flames, pushing her to the destination. She only runs because tonight will be it. Tonight it will be over. Within 3 days, she will be back with her family. Either in person or in a box.

The fire stops just before the clearing. She sees Thresh and Cato are already locked in battle, and it looks like Thresh is winning. She watches the battle for a few minutes, readying her bow. It will come down to her and Thresh, and she will have to shoot him. A cannon sounds, but neither Thresh nor Cato falls. Katniss guesses that it's the girl from 2 and sighs relief.

At that moment, Thresh brings down a rock on Cato's head. He's still breathing, but Katniss can see the dent in his skull. She hopes Gale had the good sense to tear Keegan away from the screen for that.

Thresh looks at the sky as the cannon sounds. "Where are you, Girl on Fire? Face me."

Katniss emerges from the trees, "Here I am, Thresh."

He smiles when he sees her. "Kill me, Girl on Fire. You have a family to get home to, and I have nothing. Kill me or I shall kill myself."

"But… Thresh, why? You could over power me in an instant, take my life and take the riches for yourself?"

He smiled, "I know. But you tried to save Rue. I heard him talking about it. You have a little girl. Take my gift." He puts his chest out. "Make it quick."

She is torn by her morals and her desires to get back to her family.

…

Gale watches at home, screaming for Katniss to shoot.

Instead, she takes out nightlock, a poisonous berry. She smiles at Thresh, "They have to have a Victor."

"Yes they do, Girl on Fire. And that is you. I will be of more use as a martyr than alive. Remember what I sacrificed."

Gale did, he also remembered that Katniss valued her family over everything. She handed him the berries, and held his hand as he ate them. He sank to the ground, and she waited for the cannon.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
**Katniss had done it, she had won. She let relief wash her features as she remembered she was free to go home, to hug her daughter, to kiss her husband. She smiled as she saw the hovercraft come to carry her away where they could fix her up again.

She kissed Thresh's dead hand and grabbed hold of the ladder, the current froze her in place, and all she could feel was happiness, one that radiated through her.

Somehow in the midst of the mess, she was put to sleep. She drifted into the blackness, eager to wake up.

…

Gale's mother burst through the room with all the Hawthorne children. They danced, they sang, and when Mrs. Everdeen and Prim came in, Rory flat out kissed her on the mouth. Katniss had done it, Gale's Catnip was coming home.

The phone was ringing, no doubt the baker or someone congratulating. Gale decided he better respectfully answer, his house now housed a Victor, after all.

He picked it up, breathless from all the chaos in the house, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was worried and rushed, "Hawthorne? This is Haymitch. I'm calling from a secure line. No one will be able to trace this call or hear what we're saying. Gale, they aren't happy. They think she's shown them up. I'm going to talk to her the second she wakes up. Until then, talk to _no one_ except who you must. Someone will be along to move you into the Victor's Village soon. Say nothing incriminating because you don't know who will be listening."

Haymitch sighed, "Do you understand?"

Gale didn't know why he trusted the old man, but he pinned it to Haymitch bringing his wife home alive, "Yes sir."

"Good, son. If we present _any_ kind of angle in the final interviews, I want you to go with it. You smile, you act as if nothing is wrong. And you damn sure don't leave that baby with anybody you don't trust. Goodbye Gale, we'll be in touch soon."

The line went dead in his hand. His good mood was gone. These actions had put Katniss in far more trouble than he'd ever thought possible. What was he going to do?

As he put the phone back, he answered his own question. He knew exactly what he would do: anything to protect his family.

He walked back into the room, speaking to his mother and Mrs. Everdeen in hushed voices. He didn't disclose much, only that Katniss and Keegan were in danger. They still had to act as if everything was okay, but under no circumstances was Keegan to be watched by anyone except those with a Hawthorne or Everdeen last name.

As the two women looked in Gale's eyes, they knew he was serious. He put on his emotionless mask, and headed back with the kids to continue celebrating.

…

Katniss woke up, seeing dim lights and hearing even dimmer voices. She saw the tubes coming out of her arms and panicked, trying to remove them before a calm voice and smooth hand stopped her. the olive skin made her heart skip beats, until she realized it was Cinna, not Gale.

"Stay calm, little bird. You're safe now. All we have to do is dress you for the video tonight, then again for the final interview tomorrow morning and you can go home to your nest, little bird."

Katniss sighed, she wanted nothing more to be in her own bed with her husband. Cinna reached in to hug her, "Haymitch told me to speak to you. They aren't happy with you, Katniss. They think you and Thresh showed them up on purpose. You're going to act as if you would do anything to get back to your family and that is it, got me?" she nodded, but she was still very confused.

Cinna dressed her in a very plain dark yellow ball gown. It was marvelous and a little too much for Katniss. He let her hair fall down in cascading curls and put just a hint of make up on her face. She looked like a mother.

He smiled at her again, "Gale is going to love you, Katniss. All you have to do tonight is sit there and smile. They're going to ask if you have anything to say, and I know you'll find the words. Tomorrow you'll get to see them."

She looked forward to it so much that she almost started crying in front of her prep team.

…

Gale had decided to watch the required viewing from the square tonight, so excited to see how the district would accept its newest victor. He'd already gotten gifts from just about everyone who could afford it. And those who couldn't spare the money settled with dropping by his house with congratulations.

The same happened in the square. Everyone was so excited to see Gale and Keegan, but he dare not let her out of his arms. He trusted Haymitch and saw no reason to let good advice go to waste. Thankfully, the screen turned on Caesar introducing Katniss. Gale almost dropped his baby when he saw his beautiful wife. The yellow made her "radiant as the sun" just as Caesar said. Gale felt his breath catch, she was heartbreakingly beautiful.

She smiled and waved directly to one of the cameras, blowing a kiss meant for Gale and Keegan. He beamed and stuck out his chest, his daughter squirming for her mother. Gale took her hand like she was waving at Katniss, and as if she had known what was happening, Katniss had waved back.

They showed the 3 hour video made from the games. It focused on the newest victor, Katniss Hawthorne. The crowd around Gale oohed and ahhed at all the appropriate moments, even clapping at certain times. When it came to Rue's death, Gale's voice was in the background.

When Katniss was whimpering their names after the tracker jacker venom: "I know Keegan and I are at the back of her mind because she wants to come home to us, she keeps giving us little signs to prove it."

When she outstretched her hands in the salute: "And I wish I could tell her she's at the forefront of mine, every day."

Even a random shot of Katniss just walking with Rue along the river. She turned to the camera and smiled: "The things that make Katniss the one for me? I couldn't tell you. I just know that it was fate that brought us together that day, some higher power saw something in the two of us that just clicked. And I don't know what it is about her, but I love her more than anything. Except maybe my daughter."

And finally, although it was out of order, Caesar's voice fading in the background dubbing Katniss the 'Girl on Fire,' Gale's rang out, "Keegan actually means 'tiny little fire.'"

Katniss was crying happy tears on the stage as the video cut away to show Gale and Keegan before showing Katniss winning. She was so happy that Gale missed her that much, she had saw the sincerity in his voice and knew that every word was true.

She hadn't even noticed when Caesar turned to her with the microphone, "Is there anything you'd like to say before the interviews tomorrow, Katniss?"

She nodded, "I love you, Gale. And I love you, Keegan. Mommy will be home tomorrow."

She smiled, Caesar signed off, and the screen in the square went dark.

Gale looked around him, his entire family was crying. As he looked to the familiar faces, they were crying too. Some were looking at him, some weren't. but they were all crying as they pressed three fingers to their lips and saluted the seventeen year old girl who had given them hope.

…

Katniss was escorted back to her room and fell asleep almost instantly. She longed to get away from the dreadful place called the Capitol, she longed to take her man and her baby and run. She briefly considered the possibility before succumbing to sleep.

When she woke, she was the happiest person on the planet, today was the day she could go home! She showered, fumbling with all the buttons till she got a temperature she wanted, and ended up smelling like lilac. She pressed the button to dry her body, and then another to dry and untangle her hair. She thought about braiding it, but quickly realized that the prep team would have to fix it for the interviews today, so she just left it flowing around her.

She practically skipped to eat breakfast with Peeta, Haymitch, and Effie. They all greeted her with happy faces, even Haymitch. The four were ready to get back to 12. Katniss wondered why Effie was excited, but dismissed the thought, it really wasn't her business.

Cinna came in and directed Katniss to a room where he could dress her and fix her hair. He elected to do it all himself. He had chosen a more simple, white frock. "I wanted you to have something you'd like to wear home and see your family in."

She had smiled, "It's perfect."

The interviews were done live, under the training center. Caesar asked her mundane questions about her family, what she'd do with her winnings, and how she felt about being crowned Victor. She had smiled through it all and given the bare minimum responses to every question except those concerning her family. "I just want to go home and kiss my baby girl."

"And so you shall. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victor of the 74th Hunger Games, Mrs. Katniss Hawthorne, the Girl on Fire!"

She'd smiled the whole way home that afternoon, willing the miles to pass faster and faster, all she'd wanted was to go home. When she finally saw the rolling mountains outside her window, she began to pace the length of the train. Why, why, why couldn't this thing go any faster?!

She heard Effie announce it, and her eyes went wide at the thought of being home. She stepped outside the train's doors onto the platform, trying to be nice and wave at everybody, looking for the only set of eyes she needed right now.

Searching, searching, surely Gale was here to see her home?

Then she saw him, and the whole world disappeared. Katniss Everdeen had never been one for love or the feelings that came with it. In fact, she hadn't cared about it for a long time, until she realized that she could be taken from Gale Hawthorne, and he could be taken from her. When she'd realized she'd wanted that future with him, she had chased it, finding the wonders of love and the universe. She loved him more than anything, and she ran through the crowd, straight to his arms.

He lifted her and spun her, just like he did when he'd passed his last reaping. He kissed her like she was the only woman in the world. When he set her down, the next person she wanted was her sweet baby. Katniss cried tears of joy at finally being home.

…

The cameras had caught everything, but Snow still wasn't convinced. He knew she really loved her family, but being shown up isn't something the Capitol liked, especially the President.

He smiled and sipped his tea, knowing his time with the Girl on Fire was drawing near. He would take that baby from her if she didn't submit to his will. He smiled to himself, making the mental promise that if it went that far, he'd make sure she was watching. He'd make sure she felt the same humiliation that he had when she'd offered the berries.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15  
**Moving into the Victor's Village had been easier than Katniss had imagined. Most of the furniture was already there, just waiting for them to use, and most of the things from their old home was easy to pack or stayed where it was. They brought all of Keegan's furniture because she was used to it, and they brought the mattress because they were so used to sleeping on it.

After hearing Haymitch's words, Gale was very cautious about letting his daughter out of his sight, only trusting her with his mother or Katniss's. He only told her what Haymitch had said while hunting a few days after she had come back.

"So let me get this straight," Katniss had fumed, "Because I have a heart, because I generally have morals, I'm therefore showing them up and making them look bad?"

Gale had nodded, "Seems that way, Catnip."

She had stormed off for a while, killing any animal that dared to cross her path. They'd gotten a really good haul out of it, and Katniss had let off a little steam. They decided to keep only what they needed, the rest would go down to the Hob.

Since they had more money than they knew what to do with, they always made sure to jingle their money to everybody in the old warehouse. They had also taken to delivering some of their game to different hungry families in the Seam. It made them feel good to know they were putting their time to good use and actually helping someone else.

But at night, they would make love as if it was the first night Katniss had come home all over again.

Gale had put Keegan to bed in the room next to his and Katniss's. she walked in to kiss their daughter goodnight and sing her lullaby. When they were satisfied that Keegan was asleep, they tiptoed to their room and he properly welcomed her home.

She had been back a week, and every day the routine was the same: rise early, drop Keegan at the Hawthorne or Everdeen place, go hunting a few hours, trade at the Hob, get Keegan, go home, shower (most of the time together), cook lunch, find a hobby, cook dinner, put Keegan to bed, and then go to bed themselves.

They were very happy with this new life, neither of them had any worries. Katniss had nightmares from time to time, but it was Gale's strong arms that brought her back to the present, to reality. She feared she was starting to lose herself, so she spoke to Haymitch about the nightmares.

"I had them for years," He had said as he had taken a drink.

"What made them go away?" She had asked.

He had pushed the bottle of white liquor her direction.

After that, she didn't speak to Haymitch about much of anything.

Occasionally, Peeta would come over for dinner. Katniss had noticed how good he was with Keegan, and Gale had finally decided to trust him with his daughter. He had brought his wife home, after all.

Five months after Katniss had come home to them, Peeta had announced at dinner that Katniss would need to get ready for the Victory Tour. She had scowled at the same time Gale did. Another way to remind the districts of the hell they were going through.

Peeta had explained that it wasn't all bad, and because she was married, she got to bring Gale and Keegan with her—on Snow's request.

Gale had Katniss had exchanged dark looks over that one. But Katniss felt better because at least her daughter would be with her, instead of wondering how she was all the time. Keegan was turning 10 months old while they were gone, and Katniss was happy their family would be together for it.

So Gale and Katniss had packed very lightly, Cinna was bringing most of the clothes they'd be wearing, and said goodbye to their family for two weeks.

The train ride to all of the districts was a very somber procession among the adults, but Keegan was having the time of her life. She had started to understand when her parents told her no, but then she'd babble in a world all her own. This 'baby babble,' as Peeta called it, was entertaining to everyone. And all seven of the adults would sit around her at night rather than the television.

She slept in her crib some nights, but most nights were spent between Gale and Katniss, who were taking Haymitch's advice seriously and were afraid to let their baby out of their sight.

When they arrived at District 11, their first stop, Katniss felt her throat constrict. She couldn't say the Capitol-prepared speech, it just wouldn't be enough to cover what she felt for these families whose children had been sacrificed so she could return to hers. She had wept all morning, not caring about her appearance once she got there. Cinna had understood and had dressed her in black as if she were headed to a funeral, and maybe she was.

As Katniss left the train and took to the podium, she noticed that everyone who was here and associated with District 12 wore black like she was. She smiled at Cinna, who knew she was truly mourning for Thresh and Rue.

She looked at the Capitol-made speech in her hand and threw it over her shoulder, letting the words spill from her heart.

"District 11, I am Katniss Hawthorne. I don't know if there is anything I can say that will help, but I trusted Rue with all my heart. She was like my own little sister, and I will never regret my alliance with her. i—" Katniss choked on her words, "I loved her... as if she were my own flesh and blood."

She wiped a tear from her eye, looked at Gale, and went on. "And I will never be able to stop owing Thresh. He gave me my life back, he let me return home. Sacrificing his life so that my baby girl didn't have to grow up without me... that's something only a true man could do. And I don't know how I could ever repay him."

As Gale caught her shoulder, she turned back to the microphone. "And I want to give half my winnings to your families, as a thank you for what has happened."

Gale, Peeta, and Haymitch groaned at the same time.

As Katniss smiled, an older man from the audience touched his middle fingers to his mouth and outstretched them to her, and many others followed suit. Before anyone on stage could realize what was happening, the whole district had saluted Katniss, as an acceptance to her apology.

She let silent tears fall down her face as she saluted back.

…

In one swift moment, several things happened.

The first was President Snow spilling his tea—something which pissed him off. He barked an order into a microphone.

The second thing to happen was a Peacekeeper ushering Gale, Katniss, Peeta, Effie, and Haymitch into the Justice Building.

The third thing, which wasn't put on National TV, but Katniss heard anyway, was the gunshot of the bullet that went straight into the older man's head. Katniss screamed at what was before her, knowing she had caused this. Keegan began to cry, and Gale grabbed Katniss's arm to hurry her on the train.

Without any fanfare or any parties thrown in their honor, they were all whisked away to district 10 for the speech to be given the next day.

And each district came and went like the one before, save for 11. Katniss stuck to the script she was given, at Haymitch's instruction. She smiled, she waved, she kissed her husband and baby as she was supposed to. During the parties, when Gale and Katniss were expected to make appearances, Haymitch would elect to stay behind and babysit, that way Keegan was in safe hands and they could do their duties as a Victor and her husband.

The two weeks were going by mercifully quickly until they reached District 2. Katniss stumbled on her words, clearly effected by the harsh glares Cato and Clove's families were giving her. When the speech was over, they were taken to District 1 because 2 had no party to throw them, 2 had no reason to want them to stay.

In 1, Katniss gave her speech, she and Gale attended the party, and they waited in the train to come upon the Capitol, for the biggest party yet. Katniss bit her lips till she drew blood at the sight of the place she had grown up hating her whole life, knowing the charade would have to continue for at least another night longer.

...

From his office, President Snow smiled as he learned that the happy family had arrived in town. All too soon would he be speaking with Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorne, and all too soon would they know of their daughter's fate.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: SO sorry this took so long guys! Internets been down and this had to be done on my iPhone so it may not be my best work, but you guys deserved amother chapter! :)**

**Chapter 16**

For the whole two days before the party, Katniss and Gale slept like shit.

Every time Katniss would begin to drift off, nightmares of Peacekeepers taking her baby would make her shiver with fear as she curled into her husband. Gale's were all the same.

She and Gale would only leave Keegan with Peeta, Haymitch, or Effie. Effie was the only one of the group who didn't really know what was going on, but she heeded Gale's strict warning about not letting Keegan out of her sight. Katniss was glad Peeta had begun to let up on his advances. While they were subtle, they were annoying, and she knew Gale could rip Peeta apart with his bear hands... And he would, too.

The day of the speech and party, Katniss and Gale got ready at different times so one of them could always be with the baby. Cinna took Katniss just after breakfast, and she kissed Gale's cheek before letting the two of them sleep in.

She walked down the hall, holding Cinna's hand and willing herself to be strong. Cinna knew everything, probably more than Katniss did. When she felt herself start to break down at the thought of pleasing Capitolites that she hated, of facing Snow, she'd simply squeeze Cinna's hand and he'd squeeze back his support. Knowing they couldn't speak of what was going on (because of the eyes and ears nearby), this was the next best thing.

Because this was to be a very formal event, Cinna told Katniss that Gale was to be dressed in a sharp looking tuxedo. Katniss smiled at the thought of Gale being so handsome while Cinna brought out the bag with her dress.

"I thought maybe the Girl on Fire wanted to make an impression again?"

She smiled, "just what did you have in mind?"

...

An hour later, Gale rose to fix a bottle for his crying daughter. He smiled as he took the now 10 month old in his arms. Today was her birthday, of sorts, and the party tonight was for her, kind of. Gale grimaced when he thought of how many people would want to be near her, and stuck tight to his list of the five people who could hold her. He counted them in his head: Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna. Good, he thought. They'd keep her safe if he couldn't.

As Keegan sucked her breakfast down, Gale started to sing. Katniss wanted Keegan to have a voice like she and her father, and Gale shared the wish. He loved Katniss's voice so much that Keegan's bedtime was often the best part of his day.

As he dressed her lightly, because Cinna would change their clothing later, Peeta knocked lightly on the door.

"Good morning. Mind if I have a word?"

Gale stiffened. He wasn't the idiot Katniss took him for. He knew this man had been trying his wife. He also knew Katniss was loyal to him, and that's why he hadn't said anything. Well that, and they were all on the same side for Keegan's safety.

"Sure, Mellark," Gale said, hoping the last name would serve as some sort of intimidation.

"Okay, I just spoke to Effie about tomorrow's agenda.." Peeta was pale, he looked very nervous for some reason. "You three have a meeting with Snow tomorrow before we leave."

Gale nodded as Peeta spoke. He'd known this was coming but– "What? The THREE of us?"

Gale hadn't been planning on that.

"Yes... I tried to tell Effie to make up some reason Keegan couldn't, but she had tried that herself and said Snow wouldn't hear of it. This is bad, Gale."

Gale swore so loudly that Keegan started to cry. He picked her up and kissed her head before giving her a toy and her pacifier. Peeta continued.

"Katniss doesn't know yet. And she won't be told what I'm going to tell you. This is dangerous, Gale. If one little thing goes wrong in this meeting, it could be bad for us." His eyes motioned to a corner of the room worriedly, and Gale understood Peeta was afraid of who'd be watching. "We don't want bad publicity. So keep your head."

He kissed Keegan and left the room. Gale held his daughter close, suddenly very afraid.

...

The night passed as the others before had. Katniss was a vision of beauty in her pure white ball gown, and Gale was a stunning match beside her, but no one paid a lot of attention to them. Keegan stole the show with the matching tutu Cinna had given her. Everyone at the party wanted a picture with her, and they all were refused by Gale when they asked to hold her. The Capitol women didn't care for this, happily squeezing Gale in the picture too. Katniss had crossed her arms at this, but had let it go when Gale would kiss her after every picture.

Katniss have her speech, everyone ate cake and took pictures, and before they knew it they were back in bed singing Keegan to sleep.

Cinna had broke the news of the meeting to Katniss, and she had pushed it from her mind as best she could. She had no intention of letting the bastard touch her daughter, and she knew Gale didn't either.

They slept wearily, with Keegan in between them. They held each other's hands and stared into each other's eyes rather than trying to speak. Tears flowed from Katniss's eyes at the thought of losing this man and the girl between them. But Gale's jaw set the entire night knowing what Katniss was thinking—and he wouldn't ever let that happen.

When Effie came to wake them, she took in the dark circles under their eyes. She tried to smile and failed miserably before crossing the room to hug Katniss. "It will be okay dear. You both survived the games. Nothing can be worse than that."

Gale choked, thinking of the only thing he could lose that would hurt him more than losing Katniss.

They had breakfast brought to their room and ate as a family before walking the hall together.

Haymitch went with them, walking alongside Katniss. Before they went in, he pulled a flask from his jacket, "Be good, sweetheart."

She took the door knob and walked in. The smell of roses and blood made Gale gag at the same time she did. Keegan sneezed and giggled at herself before sneezing again.

"Good morning, Mr and Mrs. Hawthorne. I'm President Snow."

They mumbled good morning and sat in the leather chairs in front of the desk.

"Now," the snake said as he turned around, "seems we have a problem."

Katniss tightened her grip on Keegan. "Do we?"

Snow tapped his fingers, growing impatient. "Yes. See, Mrs. Hawthorne, apparently you can't stay out of trouble. And that is a problem. I have decided upon a solution as well."

Gale gripped his seat harder, knuckles turning white.

"Because of your...setbacks in the games and since then, we are experiencing the flames of a rebellion. This will simply not do. We have given you opportunity to fix the problem and you just can't."

He smiled at her, "And since your actions were fueled by your love of your fine daughter here, maybe if she was gone, you'd have no reason to be difficult."

Gale and Katniss both stiffened before Gale snarled, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, Mr. Hawthorne, your daughter is going to die. And if your wife can't fix this, you will too."

Gale rose from his seat and flexed protectively in front of his family, ready to protect them. "I'd love to see you fucking TRY."

Snow smiled at the couple's distress. "Then let things escalade. You'll be surprised. You're dismissed."

Peacekeepers escorted them to a waiting Haymitch.

He led them to a room in the opposite direction from their room. He went into a plain grey room and locked the door. "This is a safe room. What happened?"

Gale explained the brief conversation while Katniss held tight to Keegan. When he finished, Haymitch took another drink. He pressed his hand to an earpiece, "Did you get all that?"

Gale looked at Katniss, clearly confused, and back to Haymitch, who held up a finger while he got his instructions.

He smiled, "Today is your lucky day, kiddos. We have a hovercraft waiting in 12. And we are going to 13 tonight."

Katniss looked at him like he was crazy. "Haymitch. You're drunker than you think. There is no 13."

He smiled. "That's just what you think, sweetheart."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: another chapter via iPhone! But my Internet will be back up tonight! Yay!

Gale didn't know what to think. He wished Haymitch's words could be true, but he just didn't see it happening.

But he followed Effie's instructions, packing his family's things into the train and sat and played with his daughter like a good father should. Katniss joined in every so often, but he knew her worry was seeping through the mask she wore.

Gale knew she was going to crack eventually, he'd seen this cycle too many times. In the tougher winters, he would escape with her to the lake to hunt. Often they wouldn't get as much as they wanted, and Katniss would lose herself under the pressure. Having to provide for two people before you turn 15 can take a tole on a girl. He never judged her for crying those days–everyone needed to let it out. Especially when someone had held it together like she had.

But it seemed that now she was trying to hold it together for Gale instead of letting it out to him. He felt bad, and he didn't quite know what he could do. So he grabbed her hand and just told her he loved her, hoping it would calm her.

Her mind was working in overdrive. If there really was a district 13, would they be able to go? Could they take their families? She wasn't sure if she could go without Prim, who was just like a daughter. But what could she do if she couldn't bring anyone other than Gale and Keegan? It wasn't like she could say no. They were going to KILL her child! And she didn't have much choice in anything these days.

She knew her mask was breaking, and she knew Gale could see straight through her. She just hoped he wouldn't ask, because asking would just make her cry.

But for every fault Gale had, bring able to read her was not one of them. He left her alone like he knew she needed, only holding her hand to offer his support. When she rose early to go to bed, Gale just missed her cheek, saying he'd put Keegan to bed and join her after.

Although Gale could read her like a book, Peeta could not. She groaned when she saw him get up to follow her and waited for Gale to do something. He just smiled, apparently wanting to see how she handled it herself.

By the time she reached the bedroom, he was right on her heels and reached for her hand. She snatched it away from him, "What do you think you're doing Peeta?" the acid in her voice hurt his feelings a little, but he kept trying.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And everything will work out. I'll take her and go if i have to."

Katniss could see the promise in his eyes, but she could also see an underlying motive. "Why, Peeta? You've been after something from me since before the games started. Now you're going to try to use my daughter for whatever sick purpose you have?!"

"No! No! It isn't like that at all! I–I just...I love you, Katniss. I want what makes you happy. Is that so bad?" he grabbed her wrist again, harder this time, to trap her to him. She strained to pull back, opening her mouth to yell for Gale, and Peeta crushed his mouth to hers.

This kiss wasn't like anything she'd ever shared with Gale. His kisses were passionate, full of love and devotion, and their purpose was pleasing her. Peeta was forcing her mouth to his–it couldn't even be deemed a kiss.

While one of his hands moved from her wrist to her shoulder, another tried to move down her back. She struggled against him, but he was so much bigger that it really didn't matter what she did. She felt his hands go lower and squirmed more, trying to find leverage against his chest.

At that moment, Gale made his way to the bedroom, having just put Keegan to bed. When he saw the two of them pressed together, he was jealous, and that made him angry. But when he saw his wife struggling against Peeta (who had still not registered Gale's presence), all he saw was red rage. He growled, past words. He grabbed Peeta by the collar of his shirt and slung him backwards into the dresser. The force knocked Peeta's breath away, abd he realized what had happened, his expression turned to one of fear and horror.

Gale only looked to Katniss, who nodded, before charging back at Peeta. Gale hit him once, twice, again and again till Katniss lost count. Blood was pouring from his nose and mouth, and every time he tried to hit Gale, he got hit harder.

"That is ENOUGH!" Katniss yelled. "You will wake up my child. Get out of here, Peeta!"

And so he obeyed. He went straight to Effie to get his wounds cleaned, because he knew they'd need it. He was so stupid. He deserved every punch Gale threw. Who kisses a married woman? Better yet, who forces a married woman to kiss you?

He hoped he could be forgiven, and he strived to do whatever it took to get her to forgive him.

...

Still in the bedroom, Katniss had jumped in the shower. She felt dirty because Peeta had forced her to kiss him. So she brushed her teeth twice to make herself feel better. Gale was still shaking with anger with an ice pack over his left eye, the product of one good hit from Peeta.

His main concern was what would've happened if he hadn't walked in. His rage mounted as his mind chewed over the possibilities, and he willed himself to not go find Peeta again.

He didn't think Peeta would've actually raped his wife, but he couldn't let the venomous weed escape his mind.

And he'd be damned if he'd let that pig near his daughter again.

After Katniss had scrubbed herself, she found that Peeta had completely destroyed her dresser and mentally noted to have it replaced. She started to pick up shards of wood and clothes when Haymitch stepped in the room, anger written on his face.

"Can anybody tell me what the hell happened?"

"Not a damn thing," Gale snapped back.

"Well why does one of my victors resemble a battered fucking tomato? Why do you have a damn ice pack on your face and why the hell is that dresser smashed?" haymitch's voice got louder and angrier with each question.

"Peeta tried to kiss me," Katniss surrendered. "Gale stepped in and saved me."

Haymitch grumbled under his breath, "So that's why he wouldn't tell me..." he grumbled some more before continuing. "We arrive in 12 soon. And the hovercraft leaves tomorrow. Your families are being brought too, unless you have a reason they should stay behind."

Gale and Katniss both shook their heads, still amazed they were even leaving. Haymitch left and they both readied themselves for bed.

Upon arriving in 12, the group noticed an immediate difference. Firstly, none of them were to go anywhere without a Peacekeeper as an escort. Haymitch had sworn under his breath, knowing the plans of leaving were all but lost now.

They allowed the Peacekeepers to take them home, where they waited outside the door of the house. This was the same for Haymitch and Peeta. Gale was beyond pissed and demanded to know why he was suddenly prisoner in his own home. Katniss hated it too, so she held tight to Keegan and let Gale handle the almost interrogation.

The poor peacekeeper, whom Katniss didn't recognize, was very shaky, considering Gale was at least 6 inches taller.

"Uhh, I don't know sir. All I know is President Snow authorized all Victors to start having escorts 24/7, sir."

Gale had punched a wall in his frustration.

The next morning, Haymitch came over with his guard and asked Gale if he could walk him to the bakery. Gale didn't need the money these days, so he helped the baker out for free, and for lack of something better to do. Gale had agreed and left Katniss with Keegan, making sure she had an easy to access kitchen knife in each room.

They walked out in front of the escorts just chatting. Haymitch thought he saw a disturbance and asked the peacekeepers to check it out. He pulled Gale close and began to whisper.

"They knew we'd run. They either knew or guessed, we're unsure. Keep her close. We're working a plan to get you guys out of here. Till then, don't feed her anything you don't taste yourself. Don't leave them alone, I'll be there while you're at work."

The Peacekeepers returned, and gale and Haymitch parted ways at the bakery with a handshake, leaving Gale with the reality that he might just lose his daughter.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, when i first reread this chapter, it was pitiful, and i'm really sorry. so i went back and tweaked some and added some, hoping you guys will like it a little bit better. let me know what you think, and i hope this is better :/**

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**Chapter 18**

President Snow sits at his desk, sipping his tea. He is very quiet and patient for a man who knows his days are numbered.

He knows there is a rebellion brewing, he has known it for a long time. The problem is, he had hoped he could delay it long enough to retire or die, then it would be someone else's problem. He has no doubt Panem will fall to the rebels, simply because their numbers are so big this time. He knows they will not rest until he is dead.

This time. He's not entirely sure why this time is so much different than last time or why he's so concerned with it. Ever since Panem rose up from what used to be North America, people have been dissatisfied with how things were run. Of course, the people who had built this country had tried to develop it in the way things had been in the old days, when people were trusted with power. But that hadn't worked.

People were too greedy, Snow thought, everyone always had their own agenda. It had become increasingly clear to him these last 34 years. Most people were okay with being ruled, but there were always some who thought they knew what was best.

As the afternoon slips away from him, he starts to remember how he came to power.

What a simpler time, he thinks to himself. The Hunger Games had existed about 40 years when he was named president. Only 40 years after the rebellion. 40 years was enough for adults that remembered the rebellion told their children of the severity of the Capitol. People still feared the Capitol.

The problem these days was people just forgot the stories, they weren't scared anymore. They had given too much power to the victors, who were getting fed up.

But back to the old days, Snow smiles. These people knew nothing of punishment. They thought a whipping was bad.

He had to admit, he was shocked when he was told what Panem had ran on. Deaths, threats, torture, prostitution...it wasn't exactly what someone would want to hear going into a presidency, but it had excited him. He'd never had power in his life, not once in all his years did he really have control over anything. So much power at his fingertips, and he'd gotten crazy drunk with it.

At first, he was afraid of covering his tracks, afraid someone would know. But as time went on, he'd realized how easy it was. No questions, and there was hell to pay if someone had gotten something wrong.

Wrong. The Hawthorne girl crawled back into his mind. While he hated the waste of resources, killing the baby would be necessary. It would teach her mother and father respect, and it would kill their spirit. And then for fun, he'd tell them to have another one or he'd kill the woman's sister she volunteered for.

Maybe he wouldn't take the baby. He could always make it look like a death. The baby could have so much promise if given to the right parents. To be honest, he could even take the child himself, just to torture the lovely couple. Make up some excuse as to why he could take their child from them. But he didn't want to give himself hope in case Mrs. Hawthorne got her act together.

He smiled again and sipped the tea, it was unlikely.

He had put the Peacekeepers on 24 hour watch just to make sure they weren't doing anything they shouldn't. He knew that they had probably caught on, the mentor wasn't an idiot. Abernathy, was it? Snow smiled again. He'd had so much pleasure in seeing his pain, year after year. He hadn't complied, so he lost _everything_. That was one thing Snow was giving Mrs. Hawthorne, a second chance with her love. Abernathy lost his girl first, and still didn't comply.

Snow was just waiting for the Peacekeepers to catch them doing something wrong, like hunting, then he'd have a reason for execution. And then, he smiled, he'd have their baby as a ward of the Capitol. That was probably the best scenario, actually. If he could execute Mr. & Mrs. Hawthorne on the spot, then he'd look like a hero as he took their child into his own home. He could probably change the entire rebellion…

At that moment, his big breasted, redheaded, blue eyed secretary burst in, "Sir. We have news!"

He smiled again at the shirt she was wearing. She always seemed to throw herself at him because of his power, and he liked it, "Yes?"

"The boy, he said something we can use."

The president smiled, "Get a hovercraft ready. I'd like to be there for this execution."

...

Peeta squirmed uncomfortably in his seat in the Justice Building. He knew the Peacekeepers were standing outside with loaded weapons, just as they had the day of the reaping. As he hyperventilated, he tried to convince himself it was all according to plan. And the plan had been his idea.

He couldn't lie, he felt like a downright jerk for making Katniss kiss him. She was married and had a baby, after all. The problem was her presence intoxicated him, consumed all of his thoughts and made it very hard to concentrate on what he needed to do and what he needed to stay away from. He hated that she was looking at him in this sort of light, as if he were a monster.

He had wanted so bad to make it up to Katniss, that he'd approached Haymitch with this idea. It probably wouldn't end well for him, but he needed to find a way to get the Hawthornes out of 12 so the rebellion could finally happen, so everything could change.

So he and Haymitch had decided on this distraction.

Peeta had caused a "disturbance" of sorts, mainly saying very anti Capitol things around his Peacekeepers. He and Haymitch knew they were reporting directly to Snow, and Peeta hoped it would get Gale and Katniss's bodyguards off them for a moment or two.

Because of his disloyalty to the Capitol, Peeta had been taken prisoner in his own home, and now since Snow was in 12, he would be hanged. It was very important that most of the district (save for Gale and Katniss, who were on house arrest until they could prove they were loyal to the Capitol) was there to witness.

Haymitch had decided to watch the execution on TV with Gale and Katniss, so his Peacekeepers were free to go help out with the execution. He had also decided to kill both the Peacekeepers at the Hawthorne house and set off a bomb in both their houses during the executions so they could safely escape, and it would be believed they were dead. Gale and Katniss were sad Peeta was sacrificing himself, but their family came first, and Keegan's life was in danger.

So Peeta was being held in contempt. He hadn't cried yet at the thought of his impending death–this was what he wanted, and he was oddly at peace with it. Family came first for Katniss, and he would never matter more than Gale did to her. He accepted that.

As he heard footsteps down the hallway, he prayed long and hard that Haymitch had kept up his end of the deal.

He was led out to the square for the gallows that awaited him. He had the worst deja vu to the previous years, standing here being reaped and knowing it was a death sentence. The entire district was watching, except Gale, Katniss, Keegan and Haymitch. Well, that was good. He kind of figured Snow would drag them out to watch it, but he figured that Snow would've thought there would be some type of escape plan for Peeta.

Peeta was led to the noose, and a big burly Peacekeeper read his list of crimes. As soon as the peacekeeper finished the list, which was actually quite lengthy, he looked at the podium where the President sat with his group of advisors and bodyguards. He was sipping tea and smiling, as if he were watching a comedy on TV.

When the Peacekeeper asked him if he had any last words, Peeta spit in the President's direction and held his chin high.

As the noose was slipped on Peeta's neck, the Peacekeeper suddenly stopped and heard a distant singing.

_Here in the meadow, under the willow,  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow..._

Prim was singing to him. Others in the district who had heard the song sang with her, but it was mainly her voice, her mother's, and Hazelle's that rang the loudest. As she sang, she kissed her fingers and saluted him, then smiled as everyone around them did the same. He smiled back into Snow's eyes and stepped forward to his fate, praying everything was going to plan.

Then suddenly, as the Peacekeeper went to hit the trap door so Peeta would hang by the neck, a close explosion rang out.

Everything fell into chaos.

As planned, Rory ran to the stage and cut Peeta's bound hands free. He looked to the President and saw he was being ushered into the Justice Building

_Bastard's afraid_, Peeta thought. _He should be._ He ran with Rory to where Prim, Posy, Vick, Hazelle, and Mrs. Everdeen was waiting. The plan hadn't gone to plan; Peeta wasn't supposed to survive, he was supposed to already be dead by now. But that didn't matter, Prim and Rory had a job to do. They grabbed hands and he quickly kissed her cheek, knowing he would do anything to protect this beautiful, blonde haired, blue eyed girl.

They looked to Peeta and took off, running for the woods, each of the pairs grabbing hands, so Peeta was by himself. He took up the rear as Rory and Prim led them. A random Peacekeeper had noticed them running and yelled for the others behind him.

Peeta yelled for the party to run faster, faster. They hadn't even cleared the treeline before Peeta was struck by a Peacekeeper's rifle. Rory turned at his cry of pain and shot the man with a hidden pistol, probably from Haymitch. Vick and Rory tried to help him up and keep going to hide in the woods, but Peeta was grabbed and forced backwards, being hit in the head with a fist.

He dropped to the ground, yelling "Keep going! Get away!" between punches. Rory looked to Prim, his interests conflicting, saving Prim or saving one of the major parts of the rebellion. Peeta could see the argument with himself in his grey eyes and yelled again, "_Leave me! _Save them!"

He watched Rory take Prim's hand and led the party into the woods. He sighed relief as he was hit again and his world faded to black.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hello, hello! Just making sure you guys re read Chapter 18. the first draft was pitiful, so i went back and added alot more to make it a little more tolerable. make sure you read it before reading this chapter! Keep reviewing and tell me what you like and don't like :) **

* * *

**Chapter 19  
**"They have captured him," some woman's voice confirmed over the intercom.

Katniss couldn't help the tears that started falling from her eyes. Gale was her husband, and she loved him with all her heart, but Peeta loved her too. And as much as it annoyed her to have him chasing her, she couldn't help but feel grateful, and guilty. What kind of horrors would the Capitol unleash on him once they found out Gale and Katniss had lived?

She shuddered, not wanting to think about it. Gale had offered to put Keegan down for a nap, knowing Katniss needed some time to herself to sort out what happened. It wasn't that she was a bad parent and couldn't deal with it, she'd just need time right away or while Keegan was asleep, so Gale decided to give it to her right away.

There were only a couple of things that Katniss was sure of right now, and they didn't make her feel any better. Firstly, she, Gale, Haymitch, and Keegan were on a hovercraft headed towards district 13. She didn't know exactly where 13 was so she couldn't be sure how long it would take to get there. Secondly, the Capitol believed the four of them to be dead. As far as any intelligence could tell, the president and Capitol believed the four of them had opted to kill themselves while Peeta killed himself publically. Rory and Prim's escape was just taking advantage of the moment to them, and Katniss was grateful they hadn't discovered it was planned.

She buried her head in her hands, she was only sure of two things. _Two_. The list of things she was unsure of was so much longer. Firstly, _where was her family_? Had they escaped? Had they been captured as well? Were they killed on sight? What would they do if they did escape? The questions rattled in her mind, bruising her skull until it hurt to think.

She was also unsure of what they would find when they came to 13. Haymitch had explained that there was an underground rebellion that was taking place, but she didn't know her part in it. Haymitch had mentioned that she had already jumpstarted rebellions in several places, just because of her move with Thresh, and covering Rue in the flowers.

Gale came up behind her and put his hands on hers, removing them so he could kiss her face. He hugged her from behind and put his lips on her neck, "It'll be okay," he whispered. "I'll never let anything happen to you or to Keegan."

Only two weeks had passed since their conversation with Snow, and Katniss could still get shivers from the severity of his words. It wasn't that she was scared for herself, it was her daughter that she knew could be taken from her. Katniss wasn't sure if she and Gale could live through losing their precious child.

"Almost there now," Haymitch said. They all looked out the window. It definitely wasn't much to look at. There was a landing pad for the hovercraft, and the ruins of the Justice Building. The woods went off in the distance, surrounding the ruins of the town. There were a few signs that could be read, but most of them had rotted so bad or fallen apart and there was nothing left.

They were led out of the hovercraft and into a metal elevator which took them below ground. The elevator doors opened, and Katniss felt herself exhale, not knowing she had been holding her breath. It was huge. How had she not known that it was here all these years?

She hated the Capitol. She hated them so much for keeping things like this from the people. She almost wished she had run off when she was 15 with Gale, like he had asked her. she wished they could have found this place.

But the rebellion needed to happen. And if she had to pretend to be dead, she would. If she had to kill someone, she would. She would do anything to make sure her daughter had a future.

…

Rory looked at Prim. She had dirt smeared across her forehead and her blonde hair was starting to come out of her braids, but she was beautiful nonetheless. They had both just turned 14, and he wasn't even sure this was love. All he knew was that he felt something when he looked at Prim. Some kind of burning within him. He hadn't kissed her yet, he could only man up enough to hold her hand, but that was enough.

Gale had met Katniss when he was Rory's age, and they were soul mates, and it convinced Rory even more that he had found his. Prim may not know it yet, just like Katniss hadn't known it, but Rory did. He had remembered all those days where he'd just look at her at school, wondering what Gale saw in her older sister.

But now he knew. Now he understood why Gale could spend hours in the woods with Katniss and not have very much game to bring back. He understood how Gale could go on and on about her, because it seemed he could talk about Prim forever and still not run out of things to say.

Rory had never paid much attention to girls, but now Prim was the only one he could focus on. When Haymitch had approached him about this plan, he had asked specifically about Prim, completely forgetting his own family for a moment. He felt guilty, but if he had to live the rest of his life knowing he could've saved Prim and didn't… well, it was unthinkable to his 14 year old mind. So Haymitch had promised he would work it out where Rory could lead Prim and the others to safety.

No one had really noticed the backpack Rory had put on his back. It was filled with enough water to last 10 people a week, a few dried rations in case he couldn't hunt anything, a compass, a map, and a walkie talkie with extra batteries. They had been walking for about two hours into the woods, but as soon as he realized he and his family, along with the other people that had followed, were completely safe, he pulled out the walkie talkie.

"Haymitch, do you copy?" he said into the device. Haymitch had shown him how to work it earlier that week.

"Rory? Boy, are we glad to hear from you. You're a little overdue, son," Haymitch replied.

"Had to make sure we were far enough into the woods."

Haymitch laughed, "How many people do you have with you, son?"

Rory looked around him. Prim, Mrs. Everdeen, his mother, Posy, Vick, Madge, her parents, Greasy Sae, and Ripper. Eleven people. He laughed nervously, "Eleven."

Haymitch was silent for a minute and then spoke surely, "Not a problem. We had thought you'd be bringing more, as charismatic as you are. Head due east along the line of the map I showed you. Move during the day and camp as soon as the sun sets and we'll see you in three days. Over and out."

Rory sighed as he put the walkie talkie in his pocket. They had a long road ahead of them. He looked to his small group and explained the plan and what had happened.

"Okay, guys. Now, Haymitch has been planning this for a while. Snow put the detail on Gale and Katniss, hoping they'd slip up and he'd get Keegan. We aren't sure why he wants Keegan yet, but he does, badly. Anyway, Peeta sacrificed himself and Haymitch faked their deaths so they could escape by hovercraft and Prim and I could save whoever we could."

He shifted a little, kind of uncomfortable by all the responsibility. Gale was usually the one who shouldered the hard stuff, but it was his duty now, and it had been since Katniss had gotten pregnant, he was the breadwinner. He stuck his chest out and went on, "Now, I have a map and a compass that Haymitch has taught me to use. I grabbed my bow, Katniss's, and Gale's from the hollow log we keep them in. I have enough arrows and stuff that I can probably shoot all we need to eat, and I have the stuff necessary to camp out."

He continued, "He wants us to walk as far as we can by day and camp at night. It'll take us around three days. Any questions?"

Vick pushed his glasses farther up his nose and raised his hand, "Why didn't they send a hovercraft for us?"

Rory shifted uncomfortably again and grabbed Prim's hand. "They're afraid that they'd track it and shoot it down. In fact, they're worried they're all tracking us down right now. It all kind of depends on how much information Peeta gives them."

Vick looked to the ground, he had always liked Peeta and was very upset that he hadn't gotten out.

Rory looked around again, "Anything else? … No? Okay then, let's keep moving. We still have quite a few hours before sundown."

…

Gale liked their little compartment, because it almost reminded him of their little house that he missed so much. Theirs actually had two rooms, one for them and one for the baby, which they were told was rare. He just decided it had to do with the fact that Katniss was a victor.

Every night, Gale and Katniss would rock Keegan and sing her to sleep together. Whenever they did, Gale remembered the lonely nights where he'd had to do it all by himself, so each day she was home was a treasure. He would crawl in the bed beside her every night, kissing her and telling her how much he loved her.

She didn't have to say it back as often as he did, because he knew that she loved him. Each kiss, each caress, each look in her eye only proved that to him.

The second night they were there, Keegan had fallen asleep early, so Gale had decided to take advantage of the opportunity. As Katniss went to crawl into bed, Gale stopped her. it had been so long since they'd had a physical declaration of love, he wanted it to be perfect, just so he could convey it. He pulled his teeshirt off of her and began to kiss her bare shoulder, working his way up to her neck, her ear, her jaw, and finally her lips.

He saw the goosebumps forming on her arms and smiled, he still had the old charm. She wrapped her hands in his hair, pulling off the teeshirt he wore to bed. He pushed her down between the covers and pulled off her underwear, licking his way down her stomach, further and further, just like he did the first time they made love.

God, he can still remember that stormy day in the lake house. Each time he makes love to her is just like that, full of passion and surrender to desire. He loves her, and he takes his time with his tongue, kissing the most private parts of her. He switches, going harder and softer, faster and slower until her legs tremble and her toes curl up.

As soon as she regains feeling of her limbs, she rolls over on top of him, sinking lower and lower until she gets to his boxers. "What are you doing, Catn—" but she puts a finger to his lips, silencing him. It's been so long since she's taken care of him, she's been so busy. He deserves this.

She takes him into her mouth, giving him all the pleasures he needs before he's almost, almost there. She looks up and grins at him evilly, but he just can't take anymore. He flips himself back on top of her and works her, again and again until they both find a release. His kisses stifle her moans, and his growls echo off her neck.

Afterwards, she lays on his chest, stroking the slight stubble on his face. He traces patterns on her back and intertwines their toes. He is so happy with her, and as he looks down to her, he can see that happiness reflected in her eyes. "I love you, honey," he whispers. He doesn't know why he's whispering when she was almost screaming earlier, but it seems appropriate.

"I love you too, Gale," she says. Within seconds, she is lightly snoring, and Gale smiles. Even though they're in a hell hole of a situation, he is the luckiest man in the world.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Whoo-hoo! New chapter! I need some help from you guys though. I'm not creative at all with names, so i'd love if some of you have an idea for the name i need in this chapter for the mutts. Just PM, review, whatever. Also, i'd love to know which outcomes you would like to be put in the next chapter! Please and thank you :)**

* * *

**Chapter 20  
**As the days wear on, Rory is thankful that Gale and Katniss taught he and Prim everything they knew about the woods. The game is good, and he knows exactly how to cook it all, and Prim know what herbs are good to eat and fill you up, so the party of eleven eats very well for the trip. Rory knows better than to waste all the water they have saved, so they immediately find a stream Haymitch marked on the map. Rory doesn't use a single water bottle, just in fear of what they might encounter.

For everything he does in the woods, Rory can hear Gale's voice at the back of his mind. "Make sure you pull the loop tight on the snare," or "Don't forget to tightly secure the top of the tent so it doesn't fly away." Katniss appears in his thoughts too, but mostly about killing the animals through the eye. He misses the eyes a few times, but he remembers her pregnant self telling him that it takes time.

Prim spends most of her time worrying. She knows she should trust Haymitch because he hasn't been wrong yet, but she's worried about Katniss and Peeta and Gale and Keegan.

She worries about Gale because he's basically been her older brother for her entire life, they only father figure she really had from age 10 to the present. Gale taught her many important lessons throughout her childhood: how to milk her goat, how to keep the boys from picking on her at school, how to get a boy to like you. But the most important lesson was the one he'd taught her during Katniss's games: how to be strong for those she loved.

She worries about Peeta because he saved Katniss when she and Gale could not. He gave her all the strategies in the arena, he sent her the sponsor gifts, and he got her the sponsor money. She'd never stop owing him for that, even if he was the distraction that let her escape with those she loved.

She worries about Keegan probably more than Gale and Peeta put together. She's so scared that it is a trap and someone will take her beloved niece to Snow. Her family has gone through such great lengths to protect the beautiful little girl that Prim herself would probably kill someone over her.

And Katniss… as Prim was starting to grow up, she was starting to understand the sacrifices her sister had made just to keep her well fed. Katniss had never been very good at hiding her emotions from Prim, but Prim was beginning to understand what her sister had really been through to protect her. And not just from the games or starvation, either. Katniss had often sacrificed her lunch so Prim wouldn't be made fun of for going to school without something to eat. Katniss would give Prim every nice piece of clothing she had so Prim wouldn't get made fun of. Katniss wore herself ragged and worked her fingers to the bone in the woods so Prim could go to bed warm and with a full tummy.

Katniss was basically her mother whenever Mrs. Everdeen tuned the world out. She had also volunteered herself when she had a baby waiting at home. Prim didn't know if she could ever be the kind of courageous person Katniss was.

After the first night, the walkie talkie buzzes and Prim hears her sister's voice and her brother-in-law's laugh. She looks to her mother and Hazelle hugging and crying with joy at the news. Rory grabs her hand and she looks up at him to smile. She doesn't know what love is yet, or if she'd even be very good at it, but she's seen the way Gale looks at her sister, and she can see that look copied into Rory's face, so she smiles back.

They set up for camp and sleep soundly through the night. In the morning, they feast off of Rory's excellent snares and some herbs and berries she collected. The mayor nearly jumps out of his bed when she announces she found some strawberries. Madge just laughs and hugs Prim, glad to have something to celebrate.

Although Prim and Katniss look nothing alike, Madge can see the many similarities. Not so much in the way they walk or carry themselves, but just in their courage. Prim probably doesn't realize it yet, Madge thinks to herself, but she's just like Katniss. She'll find her courage when the time comes.

Rory leads them along the line of the map, pretty confident in the direction he's heading. It's partially confusing, because the map he's holding isn't a map of Panem. In fact, he wasn't really sure what it was at all until he handed it to Vick. The eyes behind the glasses went as wide as saucers, "_Rory._ Don't you know what this is?"

Rory shook his head, "That's why I asked you, four-eyes." He smiles and playfully punches his brother.

"This," Vick goes on, "Is a map of the United States. The country that was here _before_ Panem. It's probably worth a lot of money. Enough that we'd never have to work again," Vick kept going on about how Haymitch had defiled it by marking on it, but Rory tuned him out and led the company on.

The second day was largely uneventful except for the dozen or so fish that Rory caught using another of his father's snares that Gale had taught him. A lot of miles covered, a call from Haymitch, Gale, and Katniss later, the group had settled down for the night, eager to be in 13 by tomorrow. Rory was excited, they were making excellent time.

The next morning, Rory and Prim rose before the rest of the group to check the snares and gather breakfast. He held her hand as they walked, encouraged that she let him and squeezed his hand back.

As they reached a berry patch, she pulled the basket she had brought to put them in. He started to go check snares, but he realized this would probably be his only chance to say something to her without anyone else hearing. He turned around and faced her, extending a hand, "You know, Prim. There's, uh, there's something I would like to talk to you about…" He paused, "If-if that's okay."

Prim smiled, remembering all the lessons Gale had given her about boys. Rule #1, as he had told her, nervousness equaled feelings.

"Sure, Rory. What's up?" She asked.

He couldn't hold her polite gaze, so he looked at his boots instead. "Prim, I… I kinda…" He looked back into her eyes and stepped forward to grab her hand, "Recently I've kind of developed… uh…"

Prim smiled, "I like you too, Rory."

What did she just say? He felt as if his hear was going to swell till it exploded. He thought back to his brother's advice on women. When he was so nervous he realized he couldn't remember anything, he did what felt natural. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her.

It wasn't long, it wasn't overly romantic, but it was sweet, in Prim's opinion. As he leaned away, she put her arms around his neck for a hug. The clearing they were in opened to the sky, so she noted how brightly the sun shone for her and Rory. As she opened her mouth to speak, she noticed a weird black cloud. But it wasn't any type of cloud…because it was… _moving towards them._

Rory sensed her tense up and turned around, "What in the hell is that?" He asked her.

"I don't know. But I think we should run," she'd seen enough of the games to know that whatever this was, probably wasn't man made. They took off towards where the rest of the group was, and they ran.

…

"Sir, we have sent in the mutts," the secretary said.

Snow felt his smile widen, "The ones that were just developed?"

The secretary nodded and he excused her. Since the Mellark boy had been taken captive, he'd been trying to get them to work on some type of animal or venom that could paralyze certain parts of the body permanently. His scientists were very creative, because they had mutated a grasshopper that could permanently paralyze small parts of the body, depending on where it bit. Their mouths were genetically enhanced with bigger teeth, wider opening.

Firstly, he thought he would use the grasshoppers, which oddly enough, hadn't been named yet, on the Mellark boy. First with his toes, working his way up to the spinal cord and eventually to the brain. It would be interesting to see how he reacted.

But this situation had arisen, and it was just so damn tempting to the president. He had known the families would take off after the woman, her husband, and the girl were dead. What reason did they have to stay? So he had expected something like this. But he had expected Katniss and Gale to go as well. Something must have gone wrong, he had decided. But he couldn't shake his uneasy feeling about the whole explosion.

It was okay. He would just eliminate their little party in the woods, and then this whole rebellion problem would go away. He asked the secretary to turn on a camera that was on one of the bugs so he could see the action take place.

…

Gale was so proud of Beetee. The little man with huge glasses had found a way to break into the Capitol's cameras. Whatever Snow saw on his screen, they could see on theirs.

And apparently something big was happening today, because Beetee was tracking a signal that was coming from some unknown location in Panem, directly to the President's screen.

As Beetee put it up, Gale swore at the scene in front of him. Whatever was moving, and from the sight of whatever was around it, it was a grasshopper, was headed straight for Rory's camp. He saw Rory yell for Prim to run and he would follow her. She took Posy and Vick and ran like hell into the trees before the bugs could find her.

Rory took to swinging and trying to kill as many of them as he could. But every time he was bitten, it seemed like he could no longer use whatever part of his body that had been affected.

He called it out to the other adults, and Madge called for him to run before it became too late. Gale yelled for him to run too, but it made no difference. Rory was too much like Gale, and he would fight to the bitter end.

One by one, Gale and the others in the control room watched their friends fall. Gale didn't know who was dead and who was alive as he looked into the faces of these paralyzed people.

"_Who comes up with this shit?_" He growled at no one. He'd kill whoever hurt his family this way.

After 30 minutes, whatever had brought the bugs to their camp called them back. As Gale looked at the blank screen, he felt his wife put her hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't make himself grab it, he was too full of rage. He didn't know if his little brother was dead or not, but it didn't matter, he'd seek revenge no matter what.

Snow was going to die.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21.  
**Madge hid in the bushes, scared for her life. Vick, Prim, and Posy were safe with her, but she didn't really know if Vick, her parents, these children's parents, anybody else, was safe.

She had seen the bugs go off into the distance and thought it was probably safe to venture out. Just to be even safer, she told Vick and Posy to stay hidden, knowing Prim couldn't bear to be left behind.

Tenderly, tenderly, they stepped into the clearing. It appeared that these bugs didn't just eat through human flesh. Plastic bottles, the tent, cloth, everything was gone or halfway eaten. What the fuck were these things?!

"Prim…Prim…" she heard someone whispering, almost moaning. _Rory_. Prim noticed at the exact same time she did and took off. Madge lingered for a moment to be sure the bugs were gone and called Vick and Posy to her. Posy was crying, "I want my bubba," she sobbed into Madge's shirt.

Madge patted the little girl's head, "We'll be there soon, Pose. I promise I'll get you there."

She held Vick's hand and had Posy on her hip as she walked to the clearing. Prim was sobbing over a fallen Rory and the two bodies that covered him.

Hazelle and Greasy Sae had thrown themselves on top of Rory somewhere amidst the chaos. Hazelle's eyes were lifeless, and she had bite marks covering her face. Madge didn't doubt that these bugs had some kind of venom that could kill if too many got to you, much like a tracker jacker. Greasy Sae's eyes were closed, as if she had been sleeping. Along the tree line, Ripper and Madge's parents had also fallen victim.

That left…Mrs. Everdeen. But where the hell was she?

As Prim painstakingly pushed Hazelle and Sae off Rory, he began to talk more gibberish, "They took her… Prim… they took her… gone."

Madge began to repeat the words… "Oh my gosh. Prim, I think they took your mother!"

Prim looks around, gasping as she takes in the words. She looks to the ground, ashamed that she hadn't thought about checking on her mother first. "What do we do?" She asked Madge. Prim had never went into the woods without someone who knew what they were doing, and Madge certainly didn't. They had secured what was left of their food, and Prim thought it would last the five of them till they arrived tomorrow.

Madge looked up into Prim's eyes, "We follow Haymitch's instructions and do our best to get back to 13."

Prim looked down to Rory, who had now fallen into a deep sleep. She counted all the bite marks, all over his left hand, all the way down his right leg…she didn't know what kind of venom these bugs had, so she wasn't sure what kind of effects she should be looking for.

As far as her mother, Prim didn't think she was dead. She didn't know anything about the rebellion, but as soon as Snow found out Katniss was alive, he would use their mother against her. Prim didn't know if Katniss would be able to shut their mother out like she had done all those years before.

The hardest part was having to explain to Vick and Posy that their mother was gone. Posy just cried for hours, and Prim and Madge held on to her and Vick, crying too. At sundown, Madge tried to save what was left of the tent, making a good enough shelter for the five children. Madge had never felt like more of a child than when she fell asleep crying with each of the kids in the tent.

Tomorrow they would head out, carrying Rory if they had too. To deal with her grief, Madge focused on making some kind of cart or raft that they could pull Rory on. She fell asleep dreaming of the designs in her head.

…

After Gale had stopped throwing things, he had demanded that Haymitch send out a rescue squad. Haymitch had tried to explain that it was too risky, that they'd get caught, but Gale's hardheadedness prevented him from seeing reason.

"That's my _family_, Haymitch! My family! did you ever have one of those?" He had screamed.

"No Gale!" He walked over to where Katniss was holding Keegan, "_This_ is your family! And I will endanger these two if I send out a hovercraft. The Capitol will be on us before we could get back, and they'd follow us. I just can't do it, Gale."

He stopped short and looked at his daughter. The decision was almost unthinkable, but he knew he would do anything to protect this little girl. He grumbled something about leaving and left the command room.

Katniss was near tears, and asked Haymitch, "What do we do now?"

"We wait, sweetheart. We wait."

…

By the time Madge had gotten a suitable raft together for Rory, it was almost midday. He hadn't woke yet, which was amazing considering Posy had been poking him every five seconds for the last hour. The walkie talkie had been completely destroyed, so there was no way to call Haymitch and tell him that they were or were not okay. She was frustrated, but as the head of the group now, she had to hide it.

Prim had been gathering with Vick for the whole day. she had made sure she had the types of herbs that they could eat while also getting some medicinal herbs that she thought might help Rory. She was beside herself with worry, both over him and her mother.

By the time she got back to the clearing, Madge had finished her cart/raft thing and they were packed up to go. Vick had whittled a type of spear for protection while Prim was gathering and handed it to Madge, who smiled very widely. She didn't think they'd encounter anyone out here, but _someone_ had taken Mrs. Everdeen, and Madge didn't want to meet that person or people empty handed.

Madge was very thankful that her father had taught her how to use a compass when she was a child. As she looked to his almost sleeping form on the ground, she wanted to cry at not being able to give him a proper burial. But doing it by herself for all those adults would take days, and she now had four mouths she needed to feed, with only a spear for a weapon.

She knew they would understand, and they would probably do the same in her situation. So she packed up the supplies, packed Rory on the makeshift cart, and she and Prim drug him along, following the needle of her compass.

She set her jaw and trudged forward, judging by Rory's calculations, they were only about 10 miles out from the district base. If they hurried along and kept walking a little while after sundown, they'd make it in the morning. They had enough herbs and berries and meat to last them till then. If they missed the base completely, got attacked, or took longer than expected, that was when Madge would start to worry.

She had also started thinking about what she was going to do with Rory. She'd counted two really deep insect bites on his left hand and right foot, the rest were minor and she doubted he really even felt them. What had really bothered her was the reason he was so sleepy. What kind of venom did these things have to make the recipient instantly fall asleep?

And who the hell sent those things? She'd never seen or heard of a mutation like _that_. She knew the Capitol didn't tell the districts everything, but with such a magnificent creature, she'd figured they would brag. So if they didn't really occur naturally, like the tracker jackers and mockingjays had been forced to do, didn't that mean the Capitol had sent them? So did that mean the Capitol knew where they were? Were Madge, Prim & the Hawthorne children leading the Capitol right to the 13 base?

No, that was silly. The Capitol knew where 13 was, they just wanted to kill these people to show that they could and to squash an impending rebellion. Madge laughed to herself, whether they liked it or not, the rebellion was coming.

…

Gale slept uneasily, worried about his sister and little brothers. Prim was basically a sister to him too, so he added her to the list. Even though his mother had proved many times over that she could take care of herself, he added her to the list, and Mrs. Everdeen.

Haymitch had been pacing all night, worried about them as well. If Rory had been completely right, they should have been there before sundown. But since they weren't…it left a lot to the imagination. As Gale looked down at his sleeping daughter in his sleeping wife's arms, he knew he could never lose this. No matter what happened, he'd protect these two, and he wouldn't let them out of his sight for as long as he lived.

In the morning, he kissed his girls and took them to breakfast. Still no word.

He was beginning to get antsy. Rory always made a schedule and stuck to it, so he was either dead or injured if he couldn't follow it. And if Rory had fallen, who was in charge of the group? Surely Posy, Vick, and Prim weren't wandering the woods by themselves…

No, no. the thought made him sick. Better to think of something else. He played dolls with Keegan for about two hours in the command center before a bell went off. Haymitch came running for the room, looking to Gale and Katniss with an excited gleam in his eye. "They made it, hospital wing." he shouted and took off even farther down the hall. Gale and Katniss get up to chase them, and Beetee smiles at Katniss, "I'll watch her." She looks uneasy, but Haymitch had assured her that they could trust Beetee, so she takes Gale's hand and runs for the hospital wing.

Everyone except Rory is fine and waiting in the waiting room. He kisses his sister Posy and his sister-in-law Prim before hugging Vick. Katniss cries at the fact that Prim is safe, and squeezes Madge so tightly she's afraid her meager breakfast will make another appearance.

As Gale looks around, he notices the party is missing a few important people. He turns to Vick, "Where's Rory, Mom, and Mrs. Everdeen?"

Vick shifts uncomfortably, so Madge takes his shoulder and answers. "Rory is across the hall. They think the bites paralyzed sections of his body, they won't know how bad it is until they run more tests."

She looked to Katniss, "We couldn't find Mrs. Everdeen's body… We think they took her." She shifts back to Gale and pats Vick's shoulder.

"Where is mom, Vick? Where is she?" Gale seethes.

Vick meets his eyes, "She's dead."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: A little bit more background and fluff in this chapter, but i promise, it will all mean something in the end! So bear with me, lemme know what you'd like to see more of! And don't forget to check out my other Galeniss story, ****_She Misses You_****! Please and thank you :)**

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**Chapter 22  
**When Peeta opened his eyes, all he could register was darkness. He tried opening and closing them again prove he wasn't asleep, but all he could see was darkness. He tried to move around him in the damp air, and after a couple of tries he discovered his left hand was handcuffed to a chain, and after following the chain, he realized he was handcuffed to a brick wall.

Peculiar. This slightly alarmed him, but he'd had dreams of much worse, so he didn't panic too much. He felt down his body, making sure his limbs were accounted for and he didn't feel any blood or daggers or anything.

So he started to retrace his steps, hoping this wasn't some S&M fantasy gone wrong. The last thing he remembered was Prim. He shouted something at her… what was it?

_Run._ The explosion.

He had told them to run without him. Because he'd been captured. _Captive._

_"_Son of a bitch," he swore, not directing it at anyone but himself. He was so angry he had made those kids go into the woods by themselves. Rory could hunt, but the heavens only knew what Prim, Vick, and Posy could get themselves into. He started to sweat, thinking he'd let everyone down when—_cough._

Who the hell was coughing? "Hello?" the same little voice asked. "Is anyone there?"

That voice. It was so familiar to Peeta.

"Yeah," he answered. "Who are you?"

The voice exhaled, the person didn't sound more than 10 feet away, easily close enough to kill him if this was a Capitol trick. The voice didn't respond. "Who are you?" Peeta asked again.

"Kat-Katherine, Katherine Everdeen."

Peeta felt his mouth turn to a small 'o' shape. "Katniss's mother?"

The woman laughed, "Yes…she's my daughter. Who are you?"

"It's Peeta! Peeta Mellark! From the bakery!" He started to talk quickly, so excited that he was here with someone from home. "How did they find you? What's happened?"

Mrs. Everdeen told Peeta about the mutts that attacked their group, how she watch Hazelle, Sae, and Madge's parents die before her eyes.

"It was weird," she said in a distant voice. "I didn't get a single bite. Hazelle had been screaming that each bite made her lose feeling of her fingers or toes or whatever."

"You didn't get any?" Peeta asked.

"Not a single one," came Katherine's answer from the darkness. "It was like, they'd see me or smell me and they'd go the other direction…"

Peeta thought about her words, could the Capitol be targeting her? But for what purpose? Surely they knew that she didn't know anything. Maybe they didn't. Peeta didn't like thinking about what would happen to the two of them.

As Peeta opened his mouth to reply, a door he had not seen opened. Light came spilling into the cell, illuminating the dark place they were in. bricks, bars on the windows, bars on the door, chains strapped to the wall, and the unmistakable blonde hair of Katherine Everdeen.

The guard came to Peeta and unshackled him, leading him to the door. As he walked into the hallway, he heard Mrs. Everdeen start to cry. Another Peacekeeper grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear through her helmet. "Mellark. I'm a rebel. Give them nothing. We're going to break you and Katherine out of here. Don't give them anything. I'll do my best to protect you. Others are watching you." The woman squeezed his arm in support.

Peeta looked around, what the hell was going on?

…

For the first few minutes, Gale was calm. He put his hands over his eyes, sinking into the chair behind him. "How did it happen?" he asked.

Prim looks at Madge before speaking again, "She and Greasy Sae put their selves on top of Rory so he wouldn't get bitten anymore."

Katniss can see the smile tempting his lips before his grief crushes it again, "How long will it be before he wakes up?"

"We don't know," Haymitch told him.

"So Hazelle, the Undersees, Sae, and Ripper are dead. My mother and Peeta are gone, and we are all that's left. Is that right?" Katniss asks.

"Looks to be that way, sweetheart," Haymitch answers.

"Do we think they were targeted?"

"Well sweetheart, seeing that they took your mother too, I would be willing to bet they thought they left everyone there dead. I can honestly imagine they were looking for Prim when they took your mother."

The color drained from Katniss's face and she tightened her grip on Gale's hand, "Why?"

"To break you, sweetheart. I don't think they believe you're dead." He looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

"So it didn't work, and we just endangered everyone we love," she stated.

"Well," Haymitch said, "you and handsome over here have two options. Option one, we let them know that you're alive and kicking."

"That seems like a smart option," Gale said.

"Well it depends on who you want to effect," Haymitch sneered. "They'd probably start torturing everyone you love in the Capitol, but the districts would rally together knowing that you guys got out."

Katniss ground her teeth, "So what's the other option?"

"Well, sweetheart, you keep pretending to be dead. The districts won't know anything, possibly stalling the rebellion, and we don't know when we'd be able to get Peeta and your mother out."

"So basically," Madge pipes up, "we have to go with option one."

Katniss's mouth hangs open. "You can't possibly weigh in on this! You don't have anyone you love over there!"

Madge looks down at her shoes, "That may be true, Katniss. But we don't know if they're planning on torturing your mother whether you're alive or not."

Katniss had always liked Madge well enough, from partner projects to making sure neither was alone at lunch. But this was too far. Who was this girl, the Mayor's daughter, to tell her that there was no hope? Katniss had lived on basically no food for most of her life, she knew when a situation was hopeless, and she also knew when it could be saved.

She turned to Haymitch, "If Gale, Keegan, and I come out that we're alive, and the kids come out with this bug attack, can we get Peeta and mom back?"

Haymitch put his hand on his chin, thinking. Finally Beetee, who had recently entered the room with Keegan, walked over to Katniss, "Yes, I think it could." He shifted his glasses, also adjusting his hold on the baby before handing her to Prim, "It would also be a good opportunity to evacuate some of the other victors we talked about, Haymitch. Johanna and Finnick can't just walk out of their district like I did; they've had problems with Snow before."

Gale just looked at Katniss for half a second, and she saw confusion cross his features, obviously unaware that the rebellion was going on, much less that people were actually committed to it.

Haymitch thought a little while longer, weighing the options in his mind. Katniss wondered why he wasn't referring to the President, wasn't she supposed to be in command of the whole operation? But maybe these people didn't like the total control a president had, so that was why they elected for majority type leadership. It didn't really matter, because she didn't really like Coin. She had a pompous, arrogant attitude, and Katniss didn't like many people who had an attitude like that.

She smiled, thinking that Gale could possibly be looped into that category of pompous and arrogant. But he was never serious about the opinion he held of himself, and Coin was.

"Okay, okay," Haymitch said, throwing his hands up. "Beetee, I want you and Hawthorne to make some kind of plan where we can distract the Capitol citizens long enough to rescue the valuables. We'll wait a few days to see what the Capitol does with its prisoners before we act."

"Now," he continued, "It's getting late and I need a drink. So if you'll excuse me…" and with that, he was off down the hall.

Gale turned to Katniss and hugged her, "It will be okay," he whispered. He didn't like how often he was doing that or saying it these days. But he knew it would be. He knew it wouldn't be long before this whole mess was over and they could raise their baby the way she deserved to be raised.

That reminded Gale… "What's today's date?" he asked to anyone in the room.

"April 30th," someone answered. "But it's 11:59, so almost the first of May."

Gale smiled and took his daughter from Prim and kissed her forehead, "Happy birthday, my beautiful baby Keegan."

…

Katherine looked around her, still surrounded in darkness. She didn't like it when Peeta was gone, and he was gone often. Peeta being there gave her someone to talk to, to speculate with, to make sure she didn't surrender to the zombie state.

It'd been so easy after.._he_ died. She couldn't even let herself think his name without starting to cry. She'd loved him so much, she'd given up her easily life for him.

And Peeta being in here with her… it left all the wounds fresh, as if she were seventeen again, and her hardest decision was which boy she wanted to take her out. All she can really do is think these days, and she's been thinking about _him_ a lot. She wonders what he'd say about this thing or that thing, but she knows he'd really probably be angry with her for zoning out like she did. But if he hadn't taken the job in the mines like she'd wanted… well, that was her fault too.

Twenty years before, Katherine was the belle of every ball. She had the blonde hair and blue eyes of most of the merchant kids, but her father's apothecary shop was the wealthiest in town. She would always feel bad whenever she saw the Seam kids, but she felt as if there wasn't anything she could do. _Ironic_, she thinks.

Boys chased her almost everywhere she went, and it wasn't uncommon for her to come home to freshly picked flowers with some card from a random man she had seen the day before. She did love the attention, but she always wondered if these men were interested in her actual personality or just the way she looked.

She had a best friend, his name was Elliott Mellark. Elliott was the baker's son, and he knew one day that he would take it over. The two of them went everywhere together, and everyone in the merchant class just knew they'd end up together forever. On Elliott's few days off, they would skip around the meadow just inside district 12's fence, laughing and carrying on. He always took the time to compliment her, and he always blushed so red whenever she joked with him.

One day, they heard a man coming from the woods. They knew the woods was off limits, so why was this man out there? She looked to see that he had animals strung to his belt, the long day's worth of coal dust on his face. He didn't look to be much older than she was…but who was he?

"Ross Everdeen," Elliott said, reading her mind. Ah, Katherine knew who he was now. He had been 3 years ahead of her and Elliott, going straight to the mines as soon as he was old enough.

He saw her stare and smiled a brilliant smile, one that made her smile in return. He looked to the trees and started to whistle. Katherine looked at Elliott with confusion, what was he doing?

Then he started to sing.

Katherine to this day couldn't tell you what he sang, all she could tell you was that it was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. Three verses and a chorus later, she was in love.

Katherine sighed, wondering how different her life would've been if she hadn't smiled the way she did at him, if he hadn't come to her and asked her name, if he hadn't asked to see her again. She wondered if she would've felt the love for Elliott that she felt for Ross, even after all this time.

No, she smiled, probably not. All her family had supported her even though she had run off with a coalminer. They were so happy that she'd found the truest kind of lover in Ross. But Elliott's family was much less forgiving. In fact, she still hadn't spoken to Elliott since the day of her toasting. To her, it wasn't her fault, because he'd never spoken up, but bygones were bygones.

A few months after the wedding, she'd begged Ross to go to work for her father in the apothecary shop, but he wouldn't do it. She was then carrying Katniss, and he knew he'd make more money in the mines, and that was what they needed because hunting simply wouldn't be enough for a newborn.

As her mind twisted into her two daughter's births, the door opened, light spilling into the room. She looked up and saw Peeta being thrown to the floor. Her chains had long since been undone, so she ran to him, using what little light that was there to see how bad he was. But there were no wounds, no obvious signs of torture.

"What happened, Peeta?" she asked.

"They asked if Katniss was alive, I told them I didn't know, so they let this weird kind of grasshopper bite all the toes on my foot…now I can't feel it."

Katherine stopped. She suddenly understood why those grasshoppers had been made.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**  
"Sir, he hasn't given us anything," the general said.

Snow looked out the window into his garden and brought his cup of tea to his lips. It was really too sweet for his taste, but it would do. "Have we tried out the new product?"

"Yes sir. Doesn't seem to be working either, sir." Snow turned around to face the general, who seemed very nervous. "Sir, if I may?" The president nodded, "Intelligence is telling us that they're all really dead. What are we supposed to do if the boy really doesn't have anything to tell us?"

"We may just have to come up with something else then," Snow said. "You are dismissed."

He looked at his calendar on his desk, it was May 1st. He had been so sure he'd have that baby by now. He was no idiot, he knew they were all alive. But he'd been careful not to share the information with anyone. It wasn't that he didn't trust the people around him, he just knew talking was a way to let people in on information, and the last thing he needed right now was for the Hawthornes to know that he knew they were alive.

As of right now, he knew they were in 13, and he knew where 13 was. If he wanted, all he had to do was push a button and the entire population of 13 would be destroyed. It was a nice option, and it would basically end the rebellion efforts...for now.

They would always have hope that their symbol would still be alive. The Mockingjay? Is that what they called her now? It didn't matter.

No, what Snow needed was to kill the parents in front of the nation, leave no doubts that they were dead, then raise the daughter beside him, showing the nation that the fruits of their labor will not yield the results they so want.

He still thought they'd end up killing him, but as long as Gale and Katniss ended up dead, he didn't really give a shit what happened to him.

The president sat his tea down, trying to get inside their heads. Intelligence had told him that the boy's mother was dead, and his brother possibly was too. the Numberhops, as he had called them, had worked splendidly. So the boy and all those little shit children were running around parentless. As for Katniss, he figured she was smart enough to know that they'd taken her mother. And if she was alive, which Snow presumed she was, it wouldn't take long until the rebels tried to come to retrieve them from the Capitol.

Yes, he thought. _All I have to do is wait for them to come to me._

He pressed another button on his office phone, the secretary answered. "Please tell Dr. Dalley that the procedures on Mrs. Everdeen are to start before sundown."

...

Gale rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried sipping more coffee. He and Beetee had been at this for over twelve hours, making it at least 24 hours since he'd last slept. The coffee was helping, but it wasn't a good night of sleep. Beetee had been doing most of the work, but Gale had been putting his two cents worth in here and there.

What they proposed was an immediate and well-timed strike. There were quite a few people they needed to evacuate, mainly Peeta, Mrs. Everdeen, Finnick Odair (a rebel from 4), Johanna Mason (7), Cinna, and possibly Effie. Haymitch was a little concerned about evacuating Effie, saying that it was very mimportant to have someone on our side in the Capitol. And Effie had alot of connections.

Beetee was in charge of creating the distraction, while Gale was in charge of finding a way to get everyone out. He tried to make a connection between animals and humans, but he found he just really couldn't do it.

After Keegan had been taken by Madge to go play, Katniss came to him. She brought him fresh coffee and massaged his shoulders and neck. "I just don't even know where to begin, Catnip. I can't think of anything," he confessed.

"Maybe you're trying to hard," she suggested. "What's the hardest thing to defend in the woods?"

He thought for a second, "An animal."

She smiled, "What's harder than fighting one animal?"

"Two animals. Catnip, I just don't see where you're goin-"

"Gale, what's harder than fighting two animals?"

The lightbulb went off in his head, "A whole pack of animals."

Katniss smiled triumphantly and kissed him. "I'll leave you to your work. Try to get some sleep soon, please. I love you."

Gale was too involved in his plan forming to say it back.

A few hours later, he presented his plan to Coin and Haymitch. "We have a hovercraft waiting to evacuate each person wherever they are. When the distraction starts, we will break them all out at once. They won't know what to do because they'll have so many things going on at once. This confusion will allow us to rescue who we need and to get away quickly."

Haymitch laughed and shook his hand. "Okay, Beetee. What's the distraction?"

Beetee pushed up his glasses, "So far, I was thinking we could have a clip of Gale, Keegan, and Katniss announcing that they're alive. Then I'd like to switch to something with Madge, Vick, and Posy explaining what happened to them and what they had to do to get here. I'd end with something about Rory, explaining the horrors of Capitol mutts."

Haymitch nodded, "I like it." He turned to Gale and Katniss, "Find a camera crew and get started. Find Madge and the kids and have them working on it too. I want this clip to be ready to go by tomorrow morning and I want all of those people in this district by tomorrow night."

As Katniss walked down the hallway holding Gale's hand, she wondered why Haymitch took control of everything like that. It didn't matter though, she liked Haymitch's guidance more than Coin's. For some reason, she just didn't care for the woman a whole lot. She and Gale found all the kids they were supposed to and found a makeup crew.

...

By that night, the propos were ready to go and Johanna and Finnick had been notifyed. Haymitch was pleased with himself. The crews were all set to leave at 0800 tomorrow, and the video was to air at 1700. If everything went correctly, they'd have everything they needed for this rebellion to work by this time tomorrow.

He took the elevator down to the Hospital floor. He wanted to make a habit of coming to see Rory. The nurse informed him that he was stable, but they were trying out different types of stimuli on various regions of the body without any kind of response. The nurse admitted they really needed him to wake up before they could access any kind of permanent damage.

The nurse laughed, "You're lucky he doesn't have any visitors right now."

"Why's that?"

"The blonde haired girl has been down here non-stop since we announced he could have visitors. I think she likes him."

Katniss's sister? "Yeah, i think they're sweet on each other."

Haymitch sat in the chair next to him and held his hand. The boy was only 14 or 15, not nearly old enough to go through what he had.

He began talking to Rory about what they were planning on doing the next day, and how he would be featured. He wondered if this was even helping, so he just squeezed the boy's hand. The boy squeezed back and Haymitch smiled at the involuntary reaction he was having in his sleep. He stayed that way for a couple minutes before he heard a knock at the door.

Prim stood there, and when she met Haymitch's eyes her cheeks flushed. "Sorry, i just, um, had to go change clothes. Has he said anything?"

"No," Haymitch replied. He stood up so Prim could take his seat and hold Rory's hand. "He will though. He'll wake up."

Prim sniffled, "I hope so. I don't know what I would do without him." She paused, holding his hand tighter. "Kat always had Gale, and they were gone all the time. So Rory would often come over with me and Mom. He just made my day brighter, knowing there was someone my age who could go through everything with me. When Kat volunteered, Gale cried with me, but it was Rory who really helped me cope."

She laughed and continued, "Gale was constantly giving me advice on boys, but now I realize his advice was always on how to handle Rory, how to make Rory happy. And i was too stupid to realize it." She started crying, and Haymitch put his hand on his shoulder.

He turned to leave, aware that he was intruding on a private moment. As he was about to close the door, he heard a husky voice ask, "Where the hell am I?"

Prim started crying even louder, calling for the nurses, "Haymitch, come back! He's awake!"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 **

When Katherine woke, she was strapped to a chair, with a blinding white light in her face. A doctor was standing over her carrying a very large needle.

"Ahh, Mrs. Everdeen. Very nice of you to join us."

She looked around the room when her eyes adjusted to the light. It was a standard operating room, and she was strapped in, unable to move. There was two more doctors in addition to the one who had spoke to her, and a very large one-way window. She assumed the president or someone similar was on the other side.

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked.

The doctor chuckled, "Normally it isn't procedure to explain what's going to happen," he smiled at the window, "But we're going to tell you anyway."

"The grasshoppers we sent after you are called Numberhops, and they can make certain sections of your body paralyzed. They worked even better than expected. So what we've decided to do is to combine the Numberhops venom with some from a tracker jacker. We're going to attempt to make a section of your brain numb."

Her eyes widened, "So I'll be useless?" Useless wasn't a feeling that was unfamiliar to her.

The doctor laughed, "Oh no, you won't be useless. You just won't be able to recognize anyone who is directly related to you. Like your granddaughter. The Numberhops will take away all of your memories and ties to her, 'numbing' your mind to her, if you will. Then, the tracker jacker venom will cause you to think horrible things, and eventually, bring the baby to Snow."

"Or maybe," the doctor smiled, "You'll kill her yourself."

Katherine spat at the doctor's face, "What will that do for you? Gale and Katniss will know you did this, and they'll come with a vengeance. They'll come to kill you all."

He smiled again, "That, my dear, is exactly what we're counting on."

...

Gale and Katniss came sprinting down to the hospital with Keegan. They were met by doctors who were trying to usher out family but with no luck. One nurse confronted another, "We have tests to run! We can't just let all these people in here!"

The other shook her head and put a hand on the other's shoulder, "He just woke up. He's not going to feel like running tests till tomorrow. Go to bed, I'll make sure it doesn't get out of hand." she winked at Gale and sent the other nurse home.

Gale burst through the room to find Prim, Madge, Vick, Posy, Haymitch, and Beetee celebrating with Rory. He was all smiles as Prim sat on the bed, and put a hand around her waist. His left hand was sitting in Prim's lap, and Gale knew he had no feeling in it, but Prim grabbed it anyway, smiling ear to ear.

Katniss sat Keegan down in the hallway and let her take steps into the room. She took three before she crashed into Gale's waiting arms. The room exploded with applause, and Keegan just giggled and smiled. Rory laughed, "Still hasn't perfected that yet, has she?"

Gale grabbed his brother's usable hand, "We thought you were a goner, man."

Rory smilied, "I'm a Hawthorne, I couldn't quit on you guys." He looked back to Haymitch, "I'm ready to go for this interview, just tell me what you want me to say."

"Well," Haymitch said. "That depends on what all you remember."

"I remember everything," Rory replied. "Where's the camera?"

Haymitch nodded and Madge was sent somewhere to retrieve the camera crew. Rory was propped up in his bed by Prim, who still hadn't let go of his useless hand, and who still hadn't stopped smiling. Beetee looked at Rory, "Okay, we have everything from Snow's camera, but the people at home do not, so just put it in your own words. This isn't live, so we can always edit it if you mess up."

Rory looked up to kiss Prim on the cheek and Katniss laughed, "Guess the Hawthorne men just couldn't stay away from the Everdeen girls." Prim's face flushed and she grabbed both of Rory's hands, determined not to let him go.

Madge came skipping back with the camera crew, who she introduced as Malvus. The strange man set up the lights and camera to capture Rory in the bed. He shook his head and looked at Prim, "Excuse me, miss, but I'm afraid I can't have you in this shot." Katniss had to stifle a laugh at the man's Capitol accent because it sounded almost exactly like Effie's had.

Prim's eyes narrowed at the strange man, "I've been waiting for days for him to wake up, and if you think I'm just going to hop down for a stupid propo, you're completely wrong."

Rory nodded at her, "She can sit in the chair and hold my hand, that'll be okay." He waited for Prim to move before he looked to the camera. Malvus counted him down from five and the red light on top of the camera came on. "My name is Rory Hawthorne, I'm fifteen years old. And I escaped from District 12."

He looked to Beetee, who nodded, before continuing. "A few days ago, Peeta Mellark said words about Panem, words he knew would get him sentenced to death. There was a plan formed, for a distraction during his execution, one that would enable my brother, Gale, his wife, Katniss, and their daughter, Keegan, to flee to District 13. The distraction worked, and as planned, Prim Everdeen and I cut down Peeta before my other brother and sister fled to the woods with us."

"Peeta was struck before we made the woods and taken by Peacekeepers, and he yelled for us to go on. Our party included Prim, her mother, my mother, my younger brother, Vick, my younger sister, Posy, a woman from our district, Madge Undersee and her parents, and me. We walked to district 13, and on the second day, we were attacked."

"President Snow sent a team of mutts after us. They were grasshoppers whose bites made you lose all feeling in the surrounding area." He held up his hand, "such as this, which I'll never regain feeling in. The grasshopper attacks killed my mother, Madge's parents, and the woman from our district. I was knocked basically unconsious from protecting my family and Madge, who ran from the bugs. The Capitol took Mrs. Everdeen, and we know they plan on using her against us."

"So my question, Panem, is why you still look to a government who can think of such horrible things. Would it not have been better to just take us or kill us? Of course not. They have to try to make it look 'natural' to make it look like they did nothing, like they just stood by."

"Is this what you want, Panem? A government who can stomp around and do as they please? We all deserve an equal say. The rebellion is coming, Snow. The fires of rebellion are catching. And if we burn, you burn with us!"

The cameraman yelled 'cut,' and Rory was still glaring into the camera. Haymitch clapped his shoulder, "I think you got the point across, kid."

...

The next morning, Gale suited up for battle. Cinna had sent ahead some armor for their little family, and Katniss was insisting that he wear it.

Keegan was still asleep in her crib, and Gale smiled at her. She had been babbling phrases and cues since they got to 13, even in her sleep. She was precious. He kissed her forehead and turned back to Katniss, who was helping him put on the gear. "Catnip, would you stop worrying so much? I'm going to be fine."

She looked into his eyes and he saw hers were filling with tears. "I can't do this without you, Gale," she admitted. His chest piece wasn't on yet, so he pulled her to him, encircling her with his arms. He put his lips to her forehead and breathed deeply. Katniss wasn't the best mother; he knew that as well as she did, but she would give her life for him or for their daughter, and that made her the best to him.

As he held her, he thought of their life together back in district 12, how happy they'd been with just the two of them and Keegan. He'd been so happy with his girls, he never wanted life to change. Now they had so many things to worry about, so many things that were bigger than their tiny family.

"You know, she still hasn't spoken yet," Katniss said. Keegan had started walking in between the games and the Victory tour, but Katniss's concern was increasing that she hadn't spoken yet. "One of the nurses here said it could be the stress of moving around so much, and the stress between the two of us."

"Catnip, she'll talk when she's ready, stop worrying," he laughed and lifted her face to his for a kiss. He broke their embrace and put on the chest armor, "I have to go."

Tears spilled down her eyes, "I wish I were going with you," she admitted. Gale looked at her and raised an eyebrow; Katniss really didn't ever cry. But he smiled.

"I wouldn't be able to concentrate if I had to worry about your next move. Besides, you know you have to stay with Keegan now. All the people we trust with her are going to be busy getting your mom and Peeta back, so you have to stay here."

"I know."

He leaned in Keegan's crib to kiss her again before kissing his wife's hand and cheek before walking out the door. "Gale," she called after him. "I love you."

He smirked at her, "I love you too."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: ****_Another_**** chapter today?! I know, I must be sick or something. But I had some inspiration, so i thought it was better to capitalize :D Let me know any comments, concerns, suggestions :)**

* * *

**Chapter 25**  
Peeta is being carried from the dungeon again. He assumes its to eat or to bathe, considering he hasn't done either in over a day. He's not used to going without food, it makes him want to pass out. His mind wanders to Katherine, but he knows she knows how to survive without food, so she'll be fine.

The Peacekeeper on his left holds his arm so hard he thinks he'll bruise, but the one on his right is carrying him tenderly. He hopes it's the kind rebel who spoke to him the other day, but he assumes it's just someone who's taking pity on him since he can't feel his toes on the right side.

The Peacekeeper on his right bends down to his ear and starts whispering again. "You're getting out of here tonight. I just recieved confirmation. I will help when I can. I'm going to put a crutch in the corner behind the door so you can escape." They approach another door, so she stops giving him instructions. He wants so badly to believe in the possibility of escape, but he can't let himself hope, so he doesn't.

The door looks like it's made of some type of reinforced steel and before he realizes it, he's calculating what type of explosives it would take to bring the door down. He stops himself before he can get out of hand, because he doesn't want to give himself false hope. Living in this hell hole is hard enough now, giving false hope and then having it taken from him would probably kill him.

But maybe that's a good thing. He doubts he's getting out of here alive anyway. If he has his way, Katherine will be the one who gets out. Nobody needs him, but Prim and Katniss need her.

To his surprise, the door opens to a room with two chairs. One is occupied by a strapped down Katherine Everdeen, the other he presumes is for him. The guards take him and strap him down in the chair and turn on a television. President Snow is on it, describing some kind of bullshit shortages they will be experiencing in the Capitol, but Peeta tunes out. The Capitol may require they all see the mandatory viewings, but they don't make them pay attention.

He's beginning to wonder how long the human body can last without any kind of nourishment when he hears a familar voice coming from the speakers. He turns his head as if it will break and sees the face of Rory Hawthorne. Katherine's face lights up as she exclaims his name, thankful he's alive.

As Rory begins talking, clips of Gale, Katniss, and Keegan began playing. Peeta wasn't sure how new these were, but he was so excited they were alive. Everyone in the room was glued to the screen, glued to Rory's words, so when the reinforced steel door burst open, it took them a few seconds to realize what was happening.

...

Katniss was puking, again. The first time this morning, she'd thought it was just stress over Gale leaving. But now that she was puking again, she thought it might be a sickness going around or something. She had a few questions she wanted to ask the nurses about Keegan anyway, so she picked up her daughter and headed down to the hospital wing.

The nurse smiled to her, recognizing her from Rory's room the night before, "Mrs. Hawthorne, what can i do for you today?"

"Well, I've been a little under the weather and I want to make sure I'm okay. Also a little concerned about Keegan and I have some questions I'd like to ask."

The nurse clicked some buttons on her computer, "There's an opening in about 10 minutes, just go to the first room and he'll be in there in just a second."

Katniss followed the instructions and gave Keegan a toy from her bag to keep her occupied. She sat patiently until the doctor came in, wondering where Gale was and what was happening to him at that moment. It wasn't quite time for the mandatory viewing, so she wasn't extremely worried yet.

The doctor came in and sat down next to her, "Hello, Katniss. What can I do for you today?"

She smiled and began explaining how sick she'd been lately, "i just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything going around.

The doctor looks at a few of his charts, "No, nothing that I am aware of. Let me ask you some basic questions. How long has it been since you've had Keegan?"

"She just turned a year old two days ago."

"Okay, are you taking any medications?" She shook her head, "Any injuries?" She shook her head again. "First day of your last menstrual cycle?"

Katniss counted in her head, she couldn't remember. She tried again, with no luck. "I..I don't know," she said.

The doctor smiled, "Let me have you pee on this pregnancy test and I'll see if that's what's causing it."

A few minutes later, the doctor smiled at her again. "Looks like you're expecting, Mrs. Hawthorne. Congratulations, I'll schedule you another appointment in a week or two."

Katniss picked up Keegan and numbly walked from the hospital. Pregnant? Again? Keegan had been more of a one time thing to her, she'd never expected to get pregnant again. Ever. But again? So soon? What would Gale say?

That was a silly question. She knew exactly what Gale would say. He'd be just as excited as he was with Keegan, probably more so at the thought of a baby boy. She smiles and heads with Keegan down to command, just as the tv turns on and Rory's face fills the room.

...

Gale bursts into the room, killing the Peacekeeper who hadn't spoken to Peeta. The other whipped off her helmet, and Peeta recognized her as Johanna Mason. Gale nods at her, "Hawthorne. You're Mason?" She nods and they study each other, clearly untrusting.

Peeta sees them size each other up, "Hey, guys, we'd kind of like to leave if that's okay. We can figure out if we're on the same side later." Johanna runs behind the door and grabs the crutch as Gale cuts Katherine and Peeta free.

"We have ten minutes before they leave without us," Gale says. "And they are NOT fucking leaving without us." The other three nod. Being as weak as they are, Katherine and Peeta can hardly hold themselves up. Gale grabs Peeta under one arm and he puts the crutch under his other. "Can you walk?"

Peeta nods, "Might be slow going, but I think so."

"Okay, time to go then," Johanna says. Katherine holds her shoulder as Johanna looks into the hall to make sure the coast is clear. She mentions for Gale and Peeta to follow as she slips an arm under Katherine's and they make their way down the hall.

Some guard notices their absence, because the sirens and lights start to go off in the hallway. Johanna's Peacekeeper walkie talkie is buzzing, so she quickly grabs it and reports that she has everything under control and to send back up. Gale glares at her, "Why'd you tell them to bring more?"

"I told them a different location, brainless. I'm not completely fucking stupid."

A peacekeeper emerges from a room and Gale shoots him before he can realize who they are.

Johanna looked at all the fallen guards, "Took these out all by yourself, Hawthorne?"

Gale smirked, "Had to be good at something." He shoots two more Peacekeepers before they get to the door that leads them onto roof, loading Peeta and Katherine into the hovercraft. Johanna yells for him to watch his back, and as he turns around, he sees the Peacekeeper shoot him twice before Johanna's gun rings out and the Peacekeeper falls. Before he hits the ground, he thanks Katniss for making him wear the armor.

Johanna is quick to grab him and pull him back onto the hovercraft. He's not terribly injured, just enoug that he's uncomfortable. Haymitch is there, "You okay, son?"

He nods, "Did the plan work?"

"Yes, Johanna was the last Victor we needed to secure. We got everybody."

"How many did we lose?"

"Not very many. Boggs was the only one from our group that we lost."

Gale nods before being sat on a bench to assess the injuries.

Haymitch checks to make sure he's paying attention before turning to Johanna, "They followed us."

Johanna's head snaps up, "How? They were completely disoriated, how could they have organized it so quickly?"

"We don't know. All we know is they're coming for us. They may be coming for 13 too. The only way to tell is to counterstrike or to lead them off somewhere. I told them I'd consult you and Loverboy before we acted."

Gale runs his hand through his hair, "What's the probably of death if we launch the counterstrike?"

Haymitch dropped his eyes, "Not very good."

"What's the alternative?" Johanna asked. "Leading them back to 13 and letting them kill everyone?"

Gale's eyes hardened, "We have to strike."

...

Katniss began to pace. All the hovercrafts were supposed to check in or be back over an hour ago, and there's only one who hasn't. Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta have filed in the control room behind Katniss, along with a few other victors and important people she doesn't recognize. Katniss had only met Finnick once on her Victory Tour, but it was very brief, and hardly enough to consider them friends. But Finnick walked up to Katniss and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. She knew she should return the gesture somehow, but she really couldn't find it in herself to move.

The hovercraft with Gale on it was the only one that was late, and the only one that hadn't checked in with command yet. It had been an hour, and Katniss was getting more and more desperate with every passing minute.

Keegan had easily passed the time playing dolls with Prim and Posy, but her eyelids were starting to droop. Katniss smiled and squat down to pick up the girl, "Tired yet, sweetie?" Keegan babbled on in her own language, so Katniss dismissed herself to her room to put the baby to bed. Prim promised to come wake her if they came back.

She put Keegan on the side Gale usually slept on and gave her a bottle. She starts to whimper, she misses her daddy. "I know, sweetheart. I miss him too," she rubs her tummy, scared and excited at the same time to tell Gale what's going on inside her.

As Keegan finishes, Katniss starts to sing the lullaby that Gale would sing to Keegan all those months ago.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow,_  
_a bed of grass, a soft green pillow._  
_Lay down your head, and close your eyes,_  
_and when they open, the sun will rise._  
_Here, it's safe, and here, it's warm,_  
_here the daisies guard you from every harm._  
_Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,_

She kisses her daughter's forehead, "Here is the place where I love you." She quickly falls asleep, hoping someone comes running into the room to tell her that he's home.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Gale had been sitting down on a bench trying to count figures and determine timing in his head. He turned to Haymitch and Johanna, "Okay, so we strike," Gale said. "But how are we supposed to get Peeta and Katherine back to 13?"

Katherine looked up from her seat in the room, "Don't plan around us. I want to help, and I'm sure Peeta will too."

Haymitch just kept walking around the room, trying to think of a way that this could all end well. Letting Peeta and Katherine fight was a joke, Katherine was so deranged that she probably didn't know what country she was in, much less who was the side she was supposed to be on. He had no idea what they'd done to her, but she was being nice enough to Gale, so maybe she was okay.

Johanna scoffed at the idea of Peeta's involvement, "If you don't remember, brainless, I sat in on most of his sessions. I kept the venom and shit away from him, but he's still weak. He couldn't fire a weapon if you pulled the trigger for him. Besides that, he can't feel his feet!"

She went back to glaring at Haymitch, "What kinds of weapons do we have on this hovercraft?"

Haymitch counted in his head, doing some figures. "Pretty sure we have that bomb prototype of Beetee's. He sent it with us because he thought we'd have the most problems with getting out. Damn guy was right."

Gale sat at the computer and began typing away, trying to figure out the best place to strike, the place that would weaken them the most: _the soft spot. _He laughed and zeroed in on an air hangar less than 5 miles from them, "Will this work? We can impair their hovercrafts, give us more time to prepare for the counter strike."

Haymitch frowned and clicked another button, revealing that underneath the hangar rest most of the Capitol's nuclear bombs left from the last war. "If we struck here, we'd risk killing ourselves in the process."

"Is it worth the sacrifice?" Johanna asked. "I don't have anyone left that I love, but you guys do. Is it worth risking never seeing your family again?"

Gale couldn't look at anything except his shoes. Was it worth not seeing Katniss and Keegan again? Was this chance at death worth knowing they could probably go free in the end? He looked at Johanna, "Yes, it's worth it."

Peeta walked into the room, "We don't all have to sacrifice ourselves."

Haymitch smiled, "Definitely true. We could always pick somewhere else."

Johanna smiled wickedly and pointed to another point on the map, "Or we could make a statement."

They looked at the point on the map, "It's dead in the center of the Capitol," Gale observed. "It's risky. We probably wouldn't even kill him."

"Probably not," Haymitch agreed. He took a sip from his liquor bottle, "But it would make a statement. We aren't backing down, we aren't going out without a fight."

Gale, Katherine, and Johanna smiled in agreement.

* * *

Prim came running down the hallway to Gale and Katniss's room. "Katniss, they need you," she shouts, shaking her sister into consciousness. Katniss snapped awake at the mention of Gale's name and looked at her sleeping daughter, "I'll watch her," Prim promised.

Katniss sprinted back to command, but it had only been about 2 hours since she'd left. The only thing that could've happened was either Gale was back or he was dead. She pushed herself harder, wanting to get there as soon as she could. She burst through the door, and Coin's upper lip curled at her entrance, "What's going on? Are they back? Where is he?" she shouted, needing the answers as soon as she could.

Finnick Odair answered him, "Peeta wants to talk to you. They've devised a plan."

She narrows her eyes and sits where they show her and turns on the monitor. "Katniss?"

"Where is Gale?"

He laughs at her from the screen, "I should have known that he'd be all you were concerned with. Don't worry, we have a plan. Gale's just setting it up and wanted me to tell you what's going on."

"So what the hell is going on, Peeta?"

"We have devised a distraction, a counter strike so we can escape. We have a few bombs on the craft. Johanna wants us to fire it at the President's mansion." He cringed, waiting to see her reaction.

"_WHAT?!_" She screeched, "Absolutely _not_!" She turned to Coin, "They'll never make it out in time, absolutely not!"_  
_

"Unfortunately, Mrs. Hawthorne," Coin said, "You do not have the authority to veto their decision. Everyone on board is okay with it, so I am approving it."

Katniss screamed again, "Where is my husband? _Where is he_?"

Peeta was clearly uncomfortable dealing with Katniss and started stumbling his words. "I, uh, he...w-wanted me to t-tell you that he loves you and k-k-keegan..."

She paused, "Why wouldn't he tell me himself?"

She heard an old voice in the background, "Because I'm busy at the moment, Catnip. Calm down."

A smile broke out across her face, "Please be careful. I love you."

She heard him laugh, "I love you too, okay? Now stop giving Mellark a hard time." She laughed and stuck her tongue out at the screen, thinking he couldn't see her, but he did. "I saw that. Now go do something productive."

Peeta smiled at Katniss again, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. For everything. For kissing you on the train, for being too much during your training, for trying to pressure you. I'm really sorry. I've just been in love with you for a long time. Just know that I'll always be there for you, Keegan, and Gale if you ever need me. Okay? We have to go now. Gale said he loves you, again. Goodbye, Katniss."

She said her goodbyes and didn't move until she noticed a tear falling down her cheek. Rory hobbled over, having fought his way out of the hospital and put a hand on her shoulder. "They're going to be fine, Katniss. Gale knows how to survive. That's what he's done all these years."

Katniss sniffled again, "I'm just worried is all."

* * *

Snow sipped the tea and ignored the people around him. It was easy to do, but he could pretend that he was actually involved in their conversations without really being involved; it took talent. No, his mind was somewhere completely different than those who were around him. While they were discussing the rebels breaking out their prisoners, he was thinking of how to crush them in 13.

He knew they would come for the prisoners, that's why he'd taken them in the first place. He'd been so sure the woman would come for her mother, but the man came instead. No matter, no matter. All he needed to do was kill the boy and the girl would fall right into his lap. He was sure of it. His secretary interrupted one of the heads of the military, "Sir. We have information that the rebels are going to strike. Here. Tonight."

Snow smiled and kept sipping his tea, "We should probably give them a proper welcome then, shouldn't we?" He smiled and mentioned for the general to commence the plan they had worked out. He went back to staring at a corner of the ceiling, imagining the ways he would punish her for ruining their way of life. To be honest, he could just have Coin do it now, she listened to almost everything he ever said, but it would give away too much too quickly.

Coin needed to pretend she was a rebel for just a little while longer, just long enough to lead them into the city. _Then_ the opportune moment would arise, and he would have every single one of the rebels exactly where the wanted them.

Oh yes, all he had to do was wait.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

For a few moments, time slowed down for Rory. Their monitor was directly hooked to the one on the hovercraft, so he could see Haymitch press the button that would send the bomb directly into the president's mansion. He held tightly to Prim and Katniss's hands and concentrated on breathing. His brain seemed to be working at twice its normal speed, because he saw everything that happened as if it were in frames on a movie screen rather than live action in front of him.

The first thing that happened was the intended bomb headed right for the mansion and Haymitch grabbed the controls to steer the hovercraft away from the mansion. It was all according to plan.

But then, some kind of force field stopped the bomb, and it exploded on impact. Rory could hear Haymitch and Gale's combined swearing before the monitor went blank. Katniss squeezed Rory's hand, and he could see she was crying. Prim noticed too, and she hugged her sister, so Rory did too. He picked his head up and yelled at Coin, "Get them back! Get them back, _now!"_

She was calm, "What would you expect me to do, Mr. Hawthorne?"

"Go get them!"

She scoffed, "You expect me to send a hovercraft hours away to rescue _one_ team? A team we're not even sure needs assistance? Absolutely not, Mr. Hawthorne."

Rory looked over at Katniss for backup, not knowing what he was supposed to do next. He saw her hands ball into fists and the absolution rising in her eyes. "We'll give it twenty-four hours, but after that, I'm going to rescue my husband."

"I would love to see you get the clearance to go, Mrs. Hawthorne," Coin snapped back.

Katniss took Rory and Prim's hand and stormed down the hall. Rory heard footsteps and looked back to see Cinna following them. "Katniss, that was stupid," he told her. She shook her head in response, "Katniss, why would you challenge her like that? She can lock down everything, she can make sure Gale never comes back!"

Katniss's eyes met Cinna's and looked down at her shoes, and Cinna kept talking. "If you decide to go, I will handle Keegan. I'll make sure she stays safe. But I warn you, Katniss, know what decision you're making. Know who you're leaving at risk." He let go of her shoulders, and she took Rory and Prim back to her room with Keegan.

She sat at her desk, trying to formulate plans and trying to guess what Snow was thinking. But like always, the devil's moves were impossible to decode. She heard her baby crying and held her, singing the familiar lullaby to the one year old girl.

...

They heard the explosion. They heard the screams. They heard everything.

And yet, he smiled.

He waved his hand, releasing them to their job. They only had one job, that was it, really. Capture the man. Because if they did, the girl would come. And she'd either leave her daughter unprotected, or she'd bring her. Either way, he would win.

And he fucking loved winning.

"Sir," someone came in and said, "We've got him."

He smiled again, "And the others?"

"They've..._escaped_ sir."

"Excellent. You're dismissed."

It was all going according to plan. He would keep the boy and let the rest go. The boy was all it would take for her to come back. Her mother had proved folly, but for this man, she would come. He walked down the hallway, eager to speak to him, eager to make his point clear. He gets the key and opens the door, where the main is chained and strapped to a chair, struggling as hard as he can.

He grits his teeth when he sees Snow, and the president smiles. "Good evening, Mr. Hawthorne." He sees that Gale isn't going to say anything else, so he continues, "I believe we should agree not to lie to each other from the start, do you agree?"

Gale doesn't say anything. "Fine then, I can see how this is going to go," he says. Snow puts on a glove, a glove with spikes inside it and hits Gale across the face. Blood spatters, and he still looks at Snow with narrowed eyes, glaring at him through the blood spearing down his face. "Now, Mr. Hawthorne. You _will_ answer me, or it will get worse."

Gale nods, "What kind of answer do you want, you son of a bitch?"

Snow smiles, "That one will suffice. Do you know why I've taken you and let the others go, Mr. Hawthorne?"

"Because I let them leave me behind," Gale spits.

"Ah, always the hero, Mr. Hawthone. But that answer is incorrect. I have taken you because it's actually your wife and daughter that I want. You are merely a piece in the game."

Gale spits at Snow's feet, "That's all anybody is to you, right? Just a piece in the Hunger Games, or a piece in some death scheme you've cooked up, or a piece in keeping Panem happy."

Snow smiles, "Absolutely right, young Hawthorne. As for you, I've taken your mother and you do not comply. I can only guess that taking your brothers and sisters will do the same. So i'm going to take your wife and child, then see how it all plays out."

"Katniss will never give you Keegan. Nor will anybody else in 13. You can't win."

"There is someone already in place in District 13 who will gladly hand over the baby if I so ask."

Gale's brow furrows, Snow knows he's deciding who he can and can't trust, "Peeta? What the hell did you do to him while he was here?"

"No, Mr. Hawthorne. Mr. Mellark isn't the traitor you seek."

He shakes his head, trying to make sense of what Snow is telling him, "But that means... Katherine..." He looks at Snow, "No. Not Katherine."

Snow turns to open the door again, "Mr. Hawthorne, remember, we agreed not to lie to each other."

...

Haymitch walked into command, and immediately went on the hunt for a liquor bottle. He'd seen too much tonight, entirely too much. Hawthorne had clearly sacrificed himself for them, and now Snow had him. Not the kid's best move, because now Katniss would surely be on the hunt to come rescue him.

It was nearing three in the morning, so no one was there except for he, Johanna, Finnick, and Coin. The latter three were bent over a map, discussing the pros and cons of getting Gale back. Haymitch didn't want to discuss it, because in his mind, he had failed the girl and her child, he had failed again. How was he going to explain it to Katniss and Keegan if Gale died that it was by his call that Gale had stayed behind? How could he tell them that?

Was it better to just let them blame Snow and believe it was his fault? The only ones that knew it was his call were Gale and Peeta, and Peeta was in the hospital until further notice. No one would ever know.

But Gale couldn't die, too much of the rebellion rested on his shoulders. Surely he knew that. Surely everyone knew that.

Everyone _did_ know that. That's why Snow would probably kill him.

Haymitch took another drink. Katniss burst into the room, "Where is he?"

"He's still there, sweetheart. Took the fall so your dear mother could come home."

She slapped him across his face. He deserved it, he knew that much. She reached back to slap him again and stopped herself, "Fine. Since it's _your_ fault he's gone, _you_ can organize the rescue mission."

"Just who do you expect to go, sweetheart? Peeta and Rory are both injured. I'm useless, somebody's gotta stay behind and protect Keegan."

She glared at him, "Finnick already volunteered. And I assumed Johanna wants to go. You, my mother, and Cinna can stay behind with Keegan. I'm ending this war and saving my husband. You can stay behind or come with, I don't give a shit. But I want a rescue mission put together in a few hours."

She went to walk out the door and turned back around to him, "And lay off the fucking bottle, drunkard."


	28. Chapter 28

Since she'd hit a dead end with Haymitch, Katniss turned to Johanna and Finnick for back up. They both nodded and Finnick turned to Haymitch, "Think of a plan, we volunteer to go get him out."

Katniss nodded and turned on her heel to go to the hospital. She wanted to see if her mother was okay enough to watch Keegan so she could rescue Gale. Her mother, Haymitch, and Peeta were the only three she trusted enough to make sure her baby didn't fall into the wrong hands.

But what about...

She dropped her hands to her stomach. She hadn't told anyone she was pregnant, except Keegan, who was barely talking. Well, if you could even call it talking. She was babbling in her own language, but she hadn't said "dada" or "mama," yet, and Katniss was a little worried. Maybe she would whenever Gale came home.

Because Gale _would_ come home, she'd make sure of it. The only question was whether she'd give her life for him or not.

Of course, if it was just herself she was worried about, she would do anything for him, no matter the cost. But with a baby at home and one on the way...she had to take in Gale's opinion a little more than normal. He wouldn't want her to die for him, knowing she was carrying his child. He'd be miserable for the rest of his life. Sure, he didn't know she was pregnant as of now, but that nurse would tell him eventually. He probably wouldn't hate her, but he'd be more upset than he should be if he found out.

She walks through the doors of the hospital, meeting Prim who was heading the same way, having just taken Rory back for his check up. She smiled as she told Katniss how much better he was now that he thought he'd be involved in Gale's rescue. His anger was fueling him to think of great things. Katniss takes her hand and leads her through the door marked Katherine Everdeen. Their mother is asleep, just hooked up to the machines for regular checkups to assess the conditions the Capitol left her in, the nurse explains.

Prim runs to her bedside and takes her hand. The motion wakes up Katherine, who stares at the two girls in horror. "Who are you? Am I supposed to know you?"

Prim looks at Katniss, the horror in their mother's face matched in her own, "What do you mean you don't know us?" Katniss asks, "We're your daughters!"

"Daughters?" Katherine asks. "No, no. I don't have any daughters. Ross died before we could have children."

The nurse narrows her eyes and begins typing on some computer next to the bed. She starts asking Katherine a series of questions, which the nurse explains has to do with the state of her mind.

What is your name?

"Katherine Everdeen."

How old are you?

"Thirty seven."

Who were you married to?

"Ross Everdeen."

How did he die?

"A mining accident, the same one that claimed a number of men."

Like the Hawthornes?

"Yes, poor Gale Hawthorne. He had to take all that responsibility all by himself. Tragic."

Katniss and Prim look at each other, and Katniss feels Prim take her hand. Why does it seem as if they have been erased from their mother's memory? What did the Capitol do to her? As the nurse starts asking questions that have to do with Prim and Katniss, Katherine's answers become shorter and shorter. Katniss observes that she acts as if she's..._numb_.

And then it hits her.

"Those grasshoppers!" She screams, interrupting the nurse's question. "They did something to her with the grasshoppers that they used on Rory and Peeta!"

A light goes on in the nurse's brain, and she sends Prim and Katniss down to Rory's room while she heads out to find the head doctor. Katniss directs Prim to the hospital room, but she runs to her compartment, where Cinna is keeping Keegan.

_Apparently_, she realizes, _I can't trust the people I thought I could._

She runs to her room, frantic to find her. But Cinna is there, rocking her with a story. _It's almost her bedtime_, Katniss thinks. She smiles at Cinna, and he nods, handing Keegan to her. "They're conducting tests on my mom, can you let me know if they find out anything or if Haymitch comes up with a plan?" Cinna nods and excuses himself, leaving the two of them alone.

Keegan cries, Gale normally reads her a story instead of Katniss, because he's better at making the voices and sounds that a children's book requires. Katniss reads to her anyway, sings her the precious song that she hopes keeps Gale safe, feeds her, and finally puts her in the bed.

She sits down at the desk in her room, pen and paper in her hands. She starts writing a letter to Prim, her mother, and most of all, Gale and Keegan.

_My family,  
__If you're reading this, I've died to save your father. I'd want you know that I really wouldn't have it any other way, otherwise I wouldn't have done what I did. Gale, Keegan, you two are the most important in my life, I would give anything for you, and obviously I've proved that._

_But please don't give up hope, don't give up anything. I'll always be with you, deep in your heart, in your voice when you say "I love you." __And I do love you both, so much more than you can imagine. __Gale, you're my best friend, hunting partner, and most of all, my love and partner in life. I love you, and there's something you should know._

She scratched out the last sentence. It was too hard to write. She finished the letter and turned out the lamp.

_Whenever you miss me, sing these words, and I'll always come back to you..._

_Deep in the meadow, under the wil__low,  
__a bed of grass, a soft green pillow.  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes,  
when they open, the sun will rise.  
_

_Here, it's safe, here, it's warm,  
here, the daisies guard you from every harm.  
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,  
here is the place, where i love you.  
_

_Always in my heart,  
Katniss_

_..._

When Gale wakes up, the first thing he realizes is how malnourished he is. It's worse than anything he's ever felt while living in the Seam. Partially because whatever this IV hooked up to him is doing, it seems to be _emptying_ him of everything that was inside his body. And he's not a doctor, but he knows that's definitely not a good thing.

But, they discussed this in training, what the Capitol could do if one was taken captive. The first thing was to always check yourself. Gale looked down, he was laying on some kind of bed, hooked up to a machine. Nothing seemed to be missing, bleeding, or bruised, so he deemed himself okay. He could only imagine the battered tomato his face resembled after getting slammed with that glove Snow used. He touched his face, his eye seemed a little swollen, but no blood was flowing, and he thought he felt scabs.

The second thing they taught was to assess your surroundings. It looked like some kind of doctor's room, so they'd moved him from wherever he was when he talked to Snow. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. He tried to get up from the bed, but his legs and waist were strapped down, which was a very, very bad thing. Just as he was wondering why his hands were free and the rest of him wasn't, a doctor walked in.

Gale tried to look as weak and innocent as he could, but he knew his thoughts were leaking into his emotions, and he was thinking of all the ways he could kill this sorry bastard so he could escape.

The doctor looked over some files and met Gale's eye, "Good morning, Gale Hawthone. My name is Dr. Calpo, and I'm in charge of taking care of you." Upon finishing his sentence, he handed Gale a few pieces of bread and some water. The bread had a ... _mockingjay_ stamped into it? Weird. The mockingjay was the symbol of the rebellion, but he wasn't sure the doctor knew that.

He sniffed the bread, being as suspicious as they taught them to be in training. His stomach was yearning for the meager bread, but he didn't want it to be his last meal. The doctor laughed, "It's authentic, son. It means exactly what you think it means." Gale raised and eyebrow at the double meaning, and the doctor laughed again, "free bread, son? Ever had it?"

Gale nodded and tore into it and the water, leaving no crumbs or droplets left. The doctor gave him a few more pieces and said he'd had enough. He clicked something at the monitor, and the temperature of the IV changed. Gale felt..._better_, like it was pumping into him rather than exiting. He still didn't know his full opinion of the doctor, but so far, he was a pretty alright guy.

The doctor checked his vitals and made sure Gale knew exactly who he was before pointing to a clock in the corner, "It's 8:30 now, someone will bring your lunch at 12, and I'll be back at 6:30." He turned to the door before turning back to Gale, "With others." He winked and was gone.

Was that some kind of double meaning? With others? Did that mean others from 13? Should he be ready? What should he do?

_Well,_ he thought, _maybe Haymitch got off his ass and thought of a way to get me home. Guess I better be ready for anything._


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Sorry this has been so long to update, guys. I've started college practices and junk and I've just been to exhausted to do much of anything, lol. So thank you guys for bearing with me, and thank you for all the awesome reviews I've been getting :) so without further ado, here we go!**

* * *

The plan was fairly simple, well, to Haymitch's mind at least. He'd seen the fierceness in Katniss's eyes, and she would probably kill him if he didn't come up with a plan to get the boy home.

He didn't really care about himself so much, but that little girl needed her daddy. And he wouldn't sacrifice a parent, he wouldn't let the Capitol win.

But Katniss was a different story entirely. Haymitch knew she had a bun in the oven, one of the nurses had told him as soon as the rescue mission had been put together. The woman was worried Katniss would be too far in the line of fire, and she had begged him not to say anything unless it was necessary.

But he knew it was useless to ask her to sit this one out, so he'd volunteered to take care of bouncing baby Hawthorne and watch from command. Coin had insisted that he go with them and let someone else watch Keegan.

Of course she had. Mrs. Everdeen had been deemed 'mentally disturbed' and was not to be around Keegan until further notice, and having Haymitch out of the line of fire was just too damn easy for her to take the baby for her own means. Coin had never said anything outright, but Haymitch was pretty good at reading people, even while drunk. And for some ungodly reason, Coin wanted that baby as bad as Snow did. She had practically danced circles when Mrs. Everdeen woke up without knowing who Katniss and Prim were.

Neither of them could be trusted, and they couldn't bring the one year old baby on the rescue mission. So Peeta, Prim, Annie, and Cinna had been designated to babysit. Plutarch knew what was going on as well, so he was staying behind to keep an eye on Coin's movements to make sure she didn't try to take Keegan for herself. Rory, Finnick, Katniss, Johanna, Haymitch, and other regular soldiers were going to the Capitol. Rory wasn't a soldier by any means—he would be sitting on the sidelines with Haymitch—and it was killing him.

The doctor on the other side had passed the message along to Gale and fed him pretty well, so he would be good to go. Haymitch knew it was imperative that no one be left behind once again, so he had arranged air support to blow the mansion. This time, the missiles were designed to take out the force field too—some new technology Beetee had been working on ever since the last one had hit a dead end.

The troops were following behind them, prepared to storm the Capitol as soon as Hawthorne was clear. This would be the last mission; this would be the last act of war they did. They'd either die rebels, or live as new citizens.

They left in 20 minutes, so Haymitch put down the bottle. He was on a mission to send Gale Hawthorne home, and to win the war. And he couldn't do it if he wasn't sober.

Just like the games. Peeta had busted his ass every single day Katniss was in the arena, telling him he couldn't send her home if he had liquor in his system. So he'd put down the bottle and did what he'd had to do.

He stood up, he had only taken a few sips, so he wasn't feeling it yet. He nodded to Johanna and Finnick, telling them to suit up with the gear Cinna had designed, to get ready for the battle ahead and to head down to the hangar. He exited the room and walked the hallways until he was at Katniss's door. He hesitantly reached up to knock on the door, and his senses zeroed in on a light soprano.

The voice was singing, it was beautiful, and he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door and interrupt the song. He stood there with his hand awkwardly raised for a few minutes, until the voice had sung all the verses of the song. It sounded like a lullaby to him, and he could hear the drabble of Keegan's voice. He knocked and opened the door to Katniss with her baby in her arms. She was alone, and guessing by the red around her eyes, she had wanted to remain that way.

"If I ain't allowed to drink, you damn sure aren't allowed to cry, sweetheart."

She weakly smiled and got up to put Keegan back into her crib. Prim would be arriving soon, and she would be staying in Katniss and Gale's compartment with Peeta until the mission was over.

But Haymitch stopped her and reached his hands out for Keegan. She got excited in Katniss's arms and began bouncing around for the hands and smiling face that wanted to see her. Katniss laughed and kissed her daughters forehead before handing her to Haymitch.

He was a little awkward with the baby girl in his arms, but Keegan was too wondrous to sit still for very long, and she began feeling his face and laughing when he changed his facial expressions.

About the third time he stuck his tongue out at Keegan, she exploded into giggles, and so did Katniss. But then the baby started to cry, and Haymitch's eyes went wide, not really knowing what to do. Katniss just laughed and took the girl back, cooing her until she calmed down, "Don't worry," she explained. "Gale plays that game with her constantly, and she just misses him." Once she had Keegan almost asleep, she kissed her and laid her back into her crib. When she turned back around, she had tears in her eyes.

"Are you sure this is going to work? You really think we'll get him back?"

He nodded, "It will. It's fool proof." he smiled at her and cooed Keegan, "Is she speaking yet?"

Katniss shook her head, "Not yet. Maybe she will when Gale comes home."

He narrowed his eyes, "You and baby Hawthorne #2 are coming home too, sweetheart."

She shook her head unsurprised that he'd already had the information, "How'd you find out?"

"One of the nurses was worried."

"I see. Well, don't tell anyone. Just in case it ends badly, or so I can surprise Gale when he comes back."

Haymitch nodded, "better get ready and say goodbye. We leave in 10."

"And Haymitch," Katniss called. He turned around and raised his eyebrows, "If the war ends tonight, I want to kill the bastard."

He chuckled and turned back around, "Whatever you say, sweetheart."

...

Gale looked at the clock above the one way window. It was nearing time. He didn't even know what kind of signal or sign he should be looking for, if he should be looking for one at all. Maybe the doctor's cracker was a Capitol tactic of making him fucking crazy to the point of thinking someone was coming for him. Maybe the rebels _were_ actually coming for him. Maybe he was expected to break out on his own.

The guy who had come in for lunch had given him another cracker with a mockingjay on it and had smiled at him before letting him out of his restraints. He wasn't sure if that was just the guy being nice, or if they really were trying to make him crazy. But it was working. The clock seemed to move slower and slower the closer it got to 6:30.

He didn't have a clue what he was really supposed to be doing though, so he thought of his family. He wondered if Keegan had spoken while he was away, and he thought about if Katniss was the one singing her to sleep or reading the bedtime stories she loved. He caught himself humming her lullaby, and he remembered the first night he'd sang it to Katniss and Keegan.

It had been right after school had let out, and Katniss was on bed rest, with Gale sleeping over almost every single night. Katniss had always been prone to bad dreams with all the responsibility thrust on her shoulders, but this night had been especially bad. She'd woken up once or twice and told Gale that the baby was running wild in her stomach. So while she was fitfully dreaming, he put his head near her stomach and sang the lullaby he'd heard her sing to Prim.

At the very end, he kissed her stomach and whispered the last line. After that, both the baby and Katniss calmed down enough to sleep, so he started singing it every night to keep her dreams away. And it worked for months and months, until Katniss went into the games. Her nightmares had been worse after the games ended, dreams of killing Rue and Thresh with her own hands, sending her baby and him to the games… The nightmares had always made Gale shudder.

At 6 pm, Gale started doing sit ups and pushups. At 6:15, he started doing pull ups on the door frame. By 6:25, he'd started pacing. At 6:27, the door creaked open, and Gale swore he felt his heart stop. But it wasn't the doctor who came in. A couple of Peacekeepers came in through the door, "Gale Hawthorne?" one asked.

"That's me," he replied.

"It's time for your procedure. Please follow us. We do not want to use unnecessary force."

Gale nodded and followed like he was supposed to. The hallways seemed to take forever to walk down, and Gale was getting more and more anxious. Was this part of the plan? "Where is Dr. Calpo?" He asked one of the smaller Peacekeepers.

"None of your concern," he replied.

Gale stopped the procession, "Where is he? Don't make me ask again."

The two Peacekeepers looked at each other before looking back at him, "He's…he's conducting the procedure." Gale nodded and followed in behind them.

They finally came to a large steel door and the Peacekeepers opened it for him. Inside, Dr. Calpo stood next to a bed, with an array of larger needles laid out beside him. The doctor had a somber look on his face, and motioned for Gale to sit down.

"These are to knock you out, son," he said, pointing to two needles. "And these, are for the procedure. I'm sorry."

Gale started looking around the room, looking for some point of exit. He wasn't going down without a fight. The doctor lightly restrained him, and Gale was puzzled, because he could easily escape if he wanted to, as lightly as the restraints were tied. He looked back up at the doctor, who smiled, and…_winked_? _What is wrong with these Capitol people,_ Gale thought to himself.

The doctor slowly got the needle and prepped Gale's skin. As he went to insert the needle into Gale's arm, a buzzer and red light went off in the room. The Peacekeepers looked around, obviously confused, and the doctor nodded at Gale before grabbing the needle and plunged it into one of the Peacekeeper's neck. The other reached his gun up to shoot the doctor, but Gale had grabbed the other needle and plunged it into the other Peacekeeper's neck. He fell next to the other, and Gale looked at the doctor, "What now?"

The doctor smiled and looked out the door, "Your wife should be arriving at any second, Hawthorne. And then, I'm showing you directly to the President's office."

Gale smiled wickedly, "So we're ending this tonight, huh? The whole damn thing?"

The doctor nodded, "The whole damn thing, son."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Okay guys, we're almost done! I know, I know, it's sad. Let me know any ideas you have for an epilogue!**

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Katniss had always thought she was a good shot with a bow, so good that the people in her district had talked about it for years. She thought she was so good that she could teach Rory how to use one even while several months pregnant. She could shoot any moving animal straight through the eye without batting an eyelash, she could kill a living person in the same span of time. She always thought that no one could equal her skill with a bow, or with any weapon.

When she went into the games, she had realized she was wrong. Clove's skill with throwing knives, Cato's skill with a sword, all of it made for a pretty equal playing field. She had thought it was just a Career thing, that she and Gale were the two outlying points on Panem's scale.

But as they were taking on Peacekeepers now, she realized that _everyone_, Career tribute or not, had something they used, something they were deadly with.

Finnick Odair was legendary with both his personality (in the bedroom and out of it) and his trident. His personality because although he was technically from a Career district, he didn't act like one, and his trident because, well… the way he could kill people with it was outrageous.

Johanna Mason wasn't from a Career district at all, and she could hit any animal or human with an axe at the same speed and accuracy that Katniss could with a bow. Johanna was meaner than the others though, and she had no problems whatsoever with taking the lives of these Peacekeepers. Katniss couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw her spitting on one after they had cleared a room.

Even Boggs and some of the other soldiers that had been brought were accurate with their guns, like snipers. Although it was hand-to-hand combat, each shot that a grey uniform sent out seemed to be directly on point, and with a certain planned target in mind. Even as the battle raged around her, Katniss couldn't help but take in the beautiful military strategy that was at work here.

As soon as Boggs would speak into his head piece that the coast was clear, Haymitch was in Katniss's ear, as well as the rest of the squad's, telling them with room and which direction to hit next. It was a little exhausting to Katniss to have to listen to Haymitch's orders, but he'd kept her alive all that time in the arena, so she thought she should probably pay attention.

Boggs had explained on the hovercraft that Beetee's job at the command base was to take out all of the alarms and warnings that they would trigger. For each room they cleared, they were directed to a specific one that was both on the way to where Gale was being held, and was safe from the alarms, thanks to Beetee.

_Even someone as scrawny as he is found a way to become a Victor,_ Katniss thought.

So when the red lights went off, the squad around Finnick, Johanna, Boggs, and Katniss started to panic. But Haymitch was right back in the earpiece, explaining that this was the signal for Gale and Calpo to start heading their direction. Katniss takes off in the direction they're told with the other Victors. Gale is so close, she can feel it, and even though it's only been a few days, she's missed him. She hates being so close and not being next to him, so she presses on.

She takes off whichever Peacekeepers she has to, and the other two take her flanks, eagerly following her, knowing they couldn't end it without Gale. Not that they'd want to end it without him.

They hear the buzzer getting louder and louder, and Katniss knows they're close to wherever they were keeping him. She turns into a hallway and runs right into Gale, who is just as breathless as she is, and twice as excited. "Catnip!" he exclaims before smashing his mouth to hers.

She can hear Johanna groaning, but she doesn't really care. But Finnick puts a hand on her shoulder and urges them on. Haymitch is shouting instructions in their ears, telling them which way to the President's office. Katniss breaks off and hands Gale a couple of guns and they start running down the hallway with the doctor, mowing down Peacekeepers as they go.

They see the door of the President's office, and Katniss can only pray that he's in there, because he's going to die tonight, and she's going to kill him. They burst through the door, and all of them take out different Peacekeepers who are around guarding the desk and the man behind it. She hears Gale snarl beside her, and when she looks past the president on the screen behind him, she understands why.

The screen behind him looks like the same one Beetee uses in the lab, he called a computer, Katniss remembers. Beetee had explained all the information he could obtain on it, and how important it was to have his own so he could work on things himself. It had all been over her head, but she had understood that the right type of computer could access anything in the world.

And right now, Snow had accessed a video of her daughter playing dolls with Peeta and Prim. She flexed up for the fight; Snow was going to _die_, and then her daughter would never be torn from her again.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne, Miss Mason, and Mr. Odair, and your company as well," the snake said.

Katniss hadn't realized it until he spoke, but most of the soldiers they had brought were standing behind the three victors and Gale. She assumed the rest were off securing the mansion, although she couldn't imagine how many more Peacekeepers they could bring in after how many they'd killed.

Snow whipped his chair around a little less politely, "So you've come to kill me, you think?"

Gale nodded, "We don't think. I _know_ you're dying tonight, you son of a bitch."

"It'd be a pity to kill me now, Mr. Hawthorne. I'm so close to obtaining what I want," he gestured to the screen. Posy had now joined in on the doll party, and while she was more involved than the other three, her eyes were lying. Katniss picked up on it and shot a look at Gale. She knew he could read her emotions, so he caught up with her that something was not right.

The camera shifted, and Posy got even more frightened, moving closer and closer to Keegan. "What do you want with our family?" Gale asked.

Snow put up his hands, "I don't want anything with your family. I just want this country back to the way it should be—"

"You mean with the districts starving and children dying everywhere? Oh and don't forget the 23 _children_ you sacrifice every year," Johanna snarled. "But as long as you fucking Capitol people have your shrimp and rice and wine, who gives a fuck what hands had to die to give it to you, right?"

Katniss had never been very close to Johanna, but seeing her get that worked up at someone that wasn't her was really a thrill. Katniss flexed over her bow, it would be easy now to take him out, as well as the other Peacekeepers. Gale and Finnick had caught this as well, and their weapons were poised for battle.

Just as Gale raised his gun, she said, "No. We can't kill him here." she turned to the soldiers, "Take him into custody. We need to kill him where the districts can see it, where they know the power is in their own hands." Gale shook his head, but he put down his weapon and followed her out of the mansion, radioing Haymitch.

"Yeah, she wants it public… I know, I know. It would've been easier tonight… Yes, sir… Yes, sir…. And can you please bring my daughter and family with you? ... thank you, sir."

The guards carried Snow out, and his grin extended to Katniss, "Try to remember who you can and can't trust, Mrs. Hawthorne."

They had finally won. The execution was set for tomorrow morning, Haymitch had told her. But something still wasn't right, something wasn't exactly on point yet. So that night in their room, she sought out Gale's opinion.

"Didn't you think that video was a little staged?" she asked him as they got ready for bed.

"Of course it was," he replied.

"By who then? It wasn't from a random video camera in the room, someone was holding it, and someone was forcing them to play with Keegan."

Gale took in this information, "Well, we can assume your mother is working for Snow, but she doesn't have the strength to force everybody to be there like that." He thought about it for a few minutes, trying to imagine who had the brute force to carry something like that out, and the technology to send it to the Capitol to Snow. Gale lifted his head at the same time Katniss did hers.

"_Coin_."


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: So I just realized I never posted this. I'm so sorry guys. lol This is the last chapter! Thanks for being so patient with me!**

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Johanna held the door open for Katniss, "_HURRY UP, BRAINLESS!_" But the more she shouted, the slower Katniss's world became.

Where was Gale?

Haymitch had showed them the floor plans of the fortress they were going through to find him and the President, and so far they'd followed the plan exactly. But they were in the room, and Gale wasn't there. As the world around her slowed down, Katniss's thoughts became faster and more erratic.

Where was Gale? Is he dead? Did they get captured? Is he already with Snow? Where is Gale?

Gale, Gale, Gale.

Johanna shook her, "What are you doing? They aren't here, so we go to the president's office!" When Katniss didn't respond, Finnick looked to Johanna worriedly but nodded. Johanna shook her again, "Gale is alive, Katniss. He's probably already beat us there."

The mention of his name kicked up her hunter's instinct, and suddenly all she had to rely on was the fact that Gale _was_ in the President's office, and he _was_ alive. Anything contrary to that was just terrifying to think about, so she nodded to Johanna and Finnick before bounding up and running through the door, letting a confused Johanna and Finnick follow her with the rest of their Star Squad.

They ran through the halls, mowing down everyone in their paths who didn't identify themselves as a rebel. Katniss didn't really care how many she killed or how many of her squad died as long as she found Gale.

Following Finnick's instructions according to the map, Katniss found a vault which was the barrier between her and the president. She kept repeating her mantra in her head: _Gale is in the president's office, he's alive, _over and over until she had convinced herself it was true. They all readied their weapons, and one of the soldiers with them opened the vault door.

The second she saw the white hair attached to the white suit sitting in the chair, Katniss fired.

...

"You missed? How could you miss, brainless?" Johanna was screaming. Katniss knew she felt like tearing her hair out, but Johanna wasn't a mother. Any man who wanted to take her child did indeed deserve to die, but Katniss wanted to know what the hell was so special about her baby girl to this snake, and where the hell he was keeping her husband.

"I didn't miss," Katniss spat back looking at the arrow wedged in Snow's shoulder.

She heard a familiar chuckle from the corner of the room, "I know what you were aiming for, Catnip."

Her head snapped up at the call of the voice, and she wanted to run to Gale and kiss him and tell him what all she had done to save him. But as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, her mouth dropped in horror.

Gale was strapped to a chair next to a man who looked like a doctor, but Katniss had never seem him before. Both of them had sweat covering their faces, and Gale's eyes looked bloodshot. She could see an IV hooked into his arm, but the liquid was full of some shiny silver liquid.

And it was going right into Gale's skin.

She turned around to Snow, who was bleeding beside her, holding on to the arrow. She nodded to Finnick, who bound the President's hands. He looked at Katniss and smiled.

"What the fuck is going into his arm?" She demanded.

The President laughed, "You mean you haven't guessed yet?"

Katniss snarled and reached out to smack him, but Johanna beat her to it with her gun. "Do you see this, snake? Tell us what is going into his body or we'll kill you and rip it out anyway!"

Snow's eyes narrowed, but he told them, "It's a new type of venom serum we've been working on. Almost like the numberhoppers we sent on your families. But this will numb not only his mind, but his organs too. He will die." The man laughed, and as he laughed he started to cough, spewing blood on the carpet at Johanna and Katniss's feet. Finnick gave her the nod, and Johanna raised her gun to put the old man out of his misery.

...

Gale felt as if he had sprint an entire marathon-his heart was tired and he felt as if he could not draw another breath because his lungs were tired too. He knew it had something to do with whatever Snow called it, but he wasn't numb, he was tired. He called to Katniss, but he didn't really know if she could hear him. Hell, he could really even hear himself.

He could still feel his fingers, and someone was grabbing them. Someone squeezed, and he felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest, freeing him. _But he still couldn't breathe! _Couldn't anyone see that he wasn't taking any breaths?! He fought, and fought, and finally he felt as if he could do no more. Gale surrendered.

The blackness had won.

But then, he saw his daughter in his thoughts. Keegan.

He had to fight, for her.

Katniss entered his mind, _where was she?_

Keegan would be taken care of, but if he were to die, Katniss wouldn't be okay for the rest of her life. She was everything to him, and he was everything to her. He had to fight for his family.

The blackness was like a physical thing, it was like a liquid that was creeping into his blood and stealing his organs-he could feel it. And for every move he made against the liquid, the liquid fought back even harder. Sometimes the liquid would give up, and he could faintly hear the calling of some member of his family, but most of the time he couldn't tell who it was anyway, he just assumed it was someone he loved.

It was a battle. Him and the blackness.

Thoughts of Keegan and Katniss helped him fight what he needed to, but it made him tired to fight so often. When he finally recognized the voice that belonged to his wife, he didn't know where he was, or how long it had been. He couldn't even tell if he was dreaming or if Katniss really was calling for him. But he hoped it was her.

Gale Hawthorne was a trained soldier. He had been taught to recognize the passing of time, but he couldn't now. He felt as if he was in some weird type of limbo, where just flashing images he could control were before him. It was like he was daydreaming, but he couldn't open his eyes. Gradually, the blackness and the numbness left his body. He realized he could move his fingers, and eventually he felt a pressure beneath him. He could hear Katniss's voice, and Keegan's laugh, and he longed to be back to them.

And then, he could hear her tears.

...

Katniss was crying, longing for him to respond to her, knowing he wouldn't. She looked down on him, wondering what she was to do without Gale her whole life. He had been in this stalemate coma for nearly three months, the war long ended and forgotten to Katniss. She was there for her daughter, and she was there for her husband. But she longed for him. She missed him.

The doctors told her that Gale could hear her, so she talked to him while she was there. They said he could feel her hand, so she held his and squeezed.

But it didn't work.

The new drugs they tried were supposed to reverse everything Snow had done, everything Snow had put into him. The doctor who had injected Gale was doing all he could, because he too had been under the influence of drugs when he was working for Snow. The doctor had been putting all of his efforts into some serum just to wake Gale Hawthorne up. Gale's injuries were serious. He'd probably never be able to see again, blind for his life. It would be a miracle if he would walk correctly. But still the doctor worked, and Katniss knew that.

The doctor was close, and had been for two weeks, so when he came running into the hospital room yelling, "I've got it, I've got it," Katniss could only cry. She didn't want to get her hopes up in case it didn't work.

But the doctor injected the serum into Gale's IV, and they sat back to wait.

Within 30 minutes, Katniss felt pressure in the hand she was holding. Gale stirred and attempted to sit up, "Hush, Gale, hush. This is Katniss, you're in the hospital. You're okay, dear."

Gale smiled beneath the bandages on his eyes, feeling around for Katniss and Keegan, who giggled. "Why the hell can't I see anything, Catnip?"


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Okay so I was going to leave things in a huge cliffhanger, but then i decided not to, 'cause that's just mean, and because you guys were REALLY angry about it, lol. so here you go :) And no, this isn't the end either. I'm just going to see where it goes :)**

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Johanna was a soldier, but more importantly, she was a survivor and she had been all her life. District 7 wasn't exactly one of the best places to be as a middle-of-the-road family, but she and her parents had made it work.

Since she had become a Victor, Johanna had realized just how much it sucked to be in any district across Panem, excluding Career districts, of course. But since she had won her games, and since the damn war had started, all she had heard about was life in the outlying districts, and realizing her childhood wasn't as bad as she thought.

She felt bad for Katniss and Gale, because they'd had to grow up in a way she hadn't. Not only had they become parents at 18 and 20 years old, but they were already parents for years before that. Hunting was illegal in district 7 too, and while Johanna _was_ a badass, she wouldn't risk going out for any kind of meat.

Gale and Katniss risked it _every day_. They'd never said anything directly, but she'd heard Peeta and Haymitch talk about it enough. It was either hunt every day or starve. And not just them, either, they had siblings to protect, mothers to feed. And for every characteristic Johanna could give herself for being a survivor, she had to give it to Gale and Katniss too.

So when she was at the hospital with Katniss, she tried her hardest to console her. Of course, Katniss knew Gale was a survivor too, but in 12 they never had to wait like this. Johanna listened to stories of waiting for miners to come out after explosions, and those waits didn't last more than two days. Gale had been lying there for weeks, and still nothing.

And after listening to Katniss cry for a week, Johanna decided she couldn't take anymore. She was either Keegan's full-time babysitter or she'd visit Gale whenever Katniss left. After the doctor gave the serum and Gale woke up, Katniss didn't leave his side for a full 48 hours, which annoyed Johanna. She couldn't really figure out why it annoyed her, but something about expecting him to be fully recovered annoyed her.

After the full 48 hours that Katniss hadn't left Gale's bedside, Haymitch came into Johanna's room, which also annoyed her. Haymitch only showed up if he needed more liquor-since she was the one who got it for him-or for her to do something for him. Neither one really interested her at the moment.

"Mason, you must go relieve Katniss."

Johanna rolled her eyes, "Why me? You go do it."

"She won't listen to me, I've tried. But she's intimidated by you-she'll listen."

Johanna rolled her eyes again and looked at the clock. She had wanted to go see Gale anyway, now that she heard he was awake and responding, so she put on her boots and started walking toward the hospital wing.

Gale was sitting up in his bed, playing with an alert and happy Keegan. The bandages over his eyes must be a hindrance, but Johanna knew they would come off soon. Katniss was asleep over Gale's lap, probably unaware that he was even awake. Just as Johanna went to enter the room and take Katniss away, one of the doctors sped past her, mumbling something about "no sleep is damaging to the baby."

Johanna stopped, _baby? Who the hell is having a baby?_ she thought.

The doctor made a beeline for Katniss, telling her that it was imperative that she get enough sleep. Johanna looked at Gale, who's confused face mirrored her own. And it all clicked for Johanna.

Katniss was pregnant.

Katniss had went on dangerous missions to get her husband back.

While pregnant.

Johanna could feel the anger bubbling within her at Katniss for endangering a baby's life, but she remained cool until she could get Katniss alone, so she stepped into the room. "Haymitch sent me down her to send her to bed, so i'll be happy to escort her, doctor," Johanna offered.

The doctor smiled, "Thank you, Mason. You're welcome to take Keegan here if you want."

Gale's mouth turned into a frown, "Johanna's here?"

"Yes, Gale," Johanna replied. "Shouldn't you be able to have super powered hearing or something?"

In his lap, Keegan giggled. She had said "mama" and "dada" but nothing concrete or really exciting yet. "I should," Gale answered. "But the doc says it just hasn't developed yet. A few more weeks in the dark and I'll be able to hear your conversations in the bunk room," he chuckled.

Katniss was scowling, clearly unready to leave her husband. But Johanna just smiled at her, "Gale, if you'll keep Keegan for a few more minutes, I'll put Katniss here to bed and come back for the _baby_."

As she was reaching down to kiss Gale goodbye, Katniss turned and glowered at Johanna-surely she didn't know. But she kissed her husband anyway and made for the door. As soon as Johanna closed it, she turned on Katniss, "Alright, brainless. When were you going to tell our squad you were pregnant? While you were dying or in a letter tucked away in your drawer?"

Katniss blushed, embarrassed that she'd been found out, "Gale still doesn't know. With everything that's happened, i just haven't had time to tell him."

"Well you better be glad he's blind, brainless. You're starting to show."

Her hands flew to her stomach, but Katniss already knew she was. Pregnancy was something she hadn't felt like dealing with yet, same as with Keegan. She'd never imagined herself married or with children, but now she was pregnant with her second child and her husband was in a hospital bed, blind.

"Now, i'm going to pretend i walked you down to your bunk. Be a good little expecting mother and sleep for a while. You look like hell," Johanna said.

"Just don't tell him," Katniss warned.

...

Gale might have been blind, but he wasn't stupid. Something was going on around him that they weren't telling him. So while Keegan was playing in his lap, he patted himself down to make sure that all his limbs were still there, eventually patting his face to make sure his nose was too. It would be his luck that his nose went missing and Johanna Mason was giggling about it in the corner.

While he was waiting for Johanna to return, his daughter was just giggling in his lap, playing with some toy doll Katniss had gotten her. Gale felt her hair-it was longer than he remembered-and as he wrapped her in a hug, she screamed in delight. It was obvious Keegan missed her daddy, and Gale had missed her too.

He knew his hearing had picked up a little, because he could hear Johanna's footsteps when she entered the room and he smiled to welcome her. The truth was, Gale had been looking forward to Johanna's visit. They had a very no-nonsense type friendship, and he knew that she wouldn't skate around his feelings like Katniss would. In truth, Katniss really hadn't told him anything of what was going on because she was so glad that he was alive and awake.

As Johanna crossed the room and sat down, Gale's smile disappeared. "Okay, Mason. What's wrong with me?"

Johanna sighed, Gale could tell she really didn't want to be the one to answer his question, but she did anyway. "Apparently, we met you up in the hallway, and you came with us to the President's room. One of the doctors was waiting behind the door for Katniss, but he got you instead. He injected the serum in your arm and then drug you to a chair. And no, Gale, i'm not sure how none of us fucking noticed."

Gale was thankful it had been him, but he kept silent so she would go on. "The serum was some kind of off breed formula of the numberhopper juice. But it wasn't just a mind or appendage bender, it was supposed to shut down your organs. The juice started for your sensory organs and attacked them one at a time, which is why you can't see, and then moved to your other organs. They barely saved your lungs and your heart and digestive system, etc. They made a split second decision-your eyes you could live without, your heart, not so much."

He nodded his head, so Johanna went on, "You were out for a long time, so as soon as we were sure you were safe, we made tracks back to 13 to see who was keeping your daughter captive. It turns out, Snow had used the numberhoppers on Katherine's mind for her daughters, and then convinced her that Keegan was the one who started the rebellion, and she needed to be brought to justice. It turned out that Coin had been in leagues with Snow too-her job had been to deliver the rebels directly to the Capitol so Snow could destroy them."

"Only it didn't happen that way," Gale interrupted.

Johanna nodded, then felt stupid because Gale couldn't see her, so she agreed, "Exactly. And once Coin realized that we didn't trust her anymore because of the shit she pulled with Keegan, she tried to run, but we had got here first and killed the bitch in cold, hard blood."

Gale nodded, and tried to put the pieces together. "So if Coin is dead, and Snow is dead, who's been running the country?"

A smile played at Johanna's lips, but she was interrupted by a nurse at the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne?"

Johanna laughed out loud at the woman, "This is Mr. Hawthorne, but I'm not his Mrs. I'm just a friend."

The larger middle aged woman laughed, "My mistake. But Mr. Hawthorne, I have the results from your wife's ultrasound."

Gale tilted his head at the woman, "Ultrasound? Why would my wife need an ultrasound? Unless...she's..."

"Yes sir," the nurse said. "Katniss Hawthorne is about 15 weeks pregnant with a beautiful, healthy baby! Congratulations, Gale!"


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Okay, THIS is the last chapter, i promise. I'll put the epilogue in here asap!**

* * *

Johanna wasn't sure that Gale was going to recover.

After the nurse announced that Katniss was pregnant, Gale's mouth hung open and stayed that way. The nurse, aware that she had said too much, mumbled her apology and retreated from the door, afraid that Gale was going to throw something at her. Johanna knew he wouldn't, but she wanted to spit fire at the nurse for giving away the information so freely.

Children were something that hadn't been figured into Katniss's life plan, it didn't take a fool to see that. Katniss was still a teenager, and while Gale was almost 21 years old (a socially acceptable age to start having children), Katniss was_ still_ a teenager. A teenager who'd had alot of responsibility thrown at her, but a teenager nonetheless.

When he'd first registered the news, Gale had started shaking. Shaking so violently that he'd spit through his teeth for Johanna to take Keegan out of his lap. Johanna didn't think he would hurt the girl, but she obeyed him anyway. After Keegan was out of his reach, his face had turned a violent shade of red, then purple, then back to red. His hands were clenched so tightly that Johanna saw his veins start to pop out beneath his skin in his arms, and in his neck. He grit his teeth, but Johanna couldn't understand _why_ he was so angry.

"Didn't you always want kids?" she ventured to ask.

At first, Gale was so clenched up that she didn't think she was going to get a response, so she just kept quiet and tried to pretend she hadn't asked at all. But gradually, Gale started to calm down. Whether it was due to Keegan's cooing and playing with her toys, or some measure of his own character, Johanna didn't know, and she didn't think Gale really knew either.

Five minutes passed before he answered her, "Johanna, how long was I asleep?"

She counted back in her head, "About three months. Ish."

"Three months is twelve weeks, right?" The question was rhetorical, so Johanna didn't feel the need to answer him. "That means she knew. She knew and she didn't tell me."

"But Gale there was so much going on-" Johanna began.

Gale turned to her, and although she knew he couldn't see her, she could just imagine the fire in his glance, "She went into battle anyway. She risked her life, and of _my_ unborn child. Unacceptable."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, only interrupted by Keegan's squeals and babbling.

"Who else knew?" He asked.

"Well," Johanna began, "I only knew this morning. But it wouldn't surprise me if Haymitch knew, he was advised to look at all of our medical records before sending us anywhere. And Coin too."

Gale snarled, scaring Keegan, "So Haymitch knew, Katniss knew, and Coin knew. And they _all_ let her go into battle _pregnant_, carrying a _child_."

"There's no use in getting angry," Johanna snapped. "She's back, she's healthy, and she's having your child, brainless."

Gale considered this information, he loved being a father and it was something he had dreamed about with Katniss even before their shocking and unplanned pregnancy. The war was over, they could raise their children in a way they deserved to be raised. "I'm...going to be a daddy," he said.

Johanna smiled, "That's right, brainless. Here," she handed Keegan to him. "Take your child while I go get your wife."

...

He was pissed, Katniss could tell. Gale never had his jaw set that way unless he _was_ pissed off. She had told him the truth-that finding him and helping him was more important than anything in the world. He'd gotten angry, but nothing bad had happened, and it would be a fearsome thing to tell the child whenever he or she was born.

Gale, having had one baby prediction right, was convinced he was to be the father of a bouncing baby boy. Katniss was indifferent, a healthy baby was a healthy baby, and that was all she cared about.

A few months passed, and Gale was still living in the hospital wing until the doctors could fully access whether they could reconstruct his eyes or not. The numberhopper-type juice had affected his nerves, and it was all a matter of time and patience as to if they would be able to get his sight back.

Prim, Rory, Peeta, Madge, and Haymitch had all moved back home to 12. Katherine was being kept in the newly designed Capitol, with the best mental facility in the nation. Prim and Rory lived with Madge and Peeta, and Gale understood that the two of them were finally together. None of the four really had parents anymore, so they all took care of each other. Rory and Prim flew back every so often to see if Katherine was any better. All the while, Katniss grew, and so did Keegan.

Keegan was walking and talking, and basically the favorite of every person in 13. She was happy for the arrival of her baby brother or sister, and she and Gale spent many nights talking to Katniss's slightly protruding tummy in the hospital wing.

But there was still the threat of Gale's condition looming over their heads. Katniss desperately missed the woods, and she knew Gale did too. The threat of never hunting together again was something Katniss wasn't prepared to deal with, so they never mentioned it until the day the sex of the baby was revealed.

In 13, with all their complicated machines, a baby's sex could be determined after a woman's fifth month of pregnancy. Katniss had been dreading the day, mainly because she was uncomfortable with having the baby in 13. She longed to be with her sister in 12, but she wouldn't admit as much. Gale felt terrible knowing he was the one keeping her from her home, from the woods, and Katniss didn't want to add to his displeasure.

But the doctor wheeled in the ultrasound machine next to Katniss's bed. Gale blindly sat in the chair with a squirming Keegan in his lap. The doctor oozed some kind of jelly on her stomach and began feeling around with a weird device. After a few seconds, the baby's silhouette appeared on the screen in front of them. The doctor felt down her stomach and smiled at Katniss. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne. You're having a baby boy."

Gale nearly jumped from his chair, screaming with joy. He'd always wanted a son, and Katniss knew that. She smiled at Gale and Keegan, who was screaming simply because Gale was happy.

They walked back to Gale's room, Katniss on Gale's arm, and Keegan on his hip. Katniss wasn't the only one glowing at the prospect of a new member of the family. Katniss smiled at her husband and giggled at Keegan's yawn.

"It's almost time for her to go to sleep," she observed.

Gale smiled at her, "I think it's time for us to go home, Catnip."

"We are home," she replied.

Gale stopped, "No. I mean home. District 12. We aren't getting anything done here in 13. If they don't get my sight back, then they just don't. I want to go home to the woods."

Katniss smiled back at him, "Then that's just what we'll do."


	34. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Ten years later..._

Watching her family play in the snow was something Katniss never dreamed she would get to see.

But eleven year old Keegan and nine year old Hadyn were pulling their father down in the Appalachian snow to wrestle with them.

After moving home to 12, her pregnancy with Hadyn had been easier than with Keegan, which Prim said was because being a boy. They had decided to go with the firey names, and after researching for a few months, had come to Hadyn. Katniss liked it, and Gale had hoped that their names would hold a remembrance of the rebellion, and the freedom their parents worked so hard for.

His sight had improved, but the doctors doubted he'd ever have his full vision back. He could see shadows and outlines, but he had never seen his son's face except by touch.

Panem was being led by some of the brightest minds in the country, and Haymitch Abernathy didn't fail at holding public office. He was only on the board of senators, but it was said that he'd stay there because he didn't want the Presidency. The president was a woman who had commanded troops in the war. Katniss didn't know her, but Haymitch trusted her, and that was enough for her. Johanna had found a place in politics too, and Haymitch had informed Katniss that it was mostly to cuss the people who were doing the country wrong.

Gale was intrigued by the limitation to his sight, it provided a challenge and even after all these years, he still loved a challenge. He was convinced he'd probably get most of his sight back, but only if he tried hard enough. He'd had Katniss read some books on the eyes out loud in the evenings, so she learned just as much about the world of eyesight as he did.

Prim and Rory came to visit often from their home in district 4. After visiting Annie and Finnick and their son for a few weeks, Prim had fallen in love with the landscape and had convinced her new husband Rory to move down there. Prim had taken over her mother's trade at the local hospital, and Rory had been involved in some of the fishing trade with Finnick. Katniss smiled as she remembered the hasty trip to district 4 to be with Prim when she had her new baby girl. But just as she had discovered during the war, Katniss wasn't fond of the ocean, and it had made her nervous to see a blind Gale swimming in it while they were there.

Even Katherine was getting most of her memory back. She didn't remember Katniss's or Prim's childhoods, but she _did_ recognize the fact that she had daughters, and she regularly kept up with them. The last time Katniss had spoken to her, she had found someone else in the Capitol and had fallen in love. Katniss hadn't met the man yet, but she had promised to come out in a few months to see him.

The years had passed, largely uneventful to Katniss and her family, and she liked it that way. Her family was everything to her, and she had proved it by starting a rebellion for them. She and Gale had changed the face of Panem, providing the way for a whole new government.

And as Gale came into the house, red faced from the snow with Keegan on his back and Hadyn in his arms, she smiled with how lucky she was. And as Gale saw her outline and leaned in to kiss her, he whispered, "I love you." Katniss smiled and kissed him back, because she knew it was true.

That night, they put the children in their beds and sang them to sleep, as they had taken to doing every night. The familiar song was Keegan's favorite, and singing it brought back memories of Katniss's games for Gale, but it put both children to sleep every night, nonetheless.

___Deep in the meadow, under the willow,  
a bed of grass, a soft green pillow.  
Lay down your head, and close your eyes,  
and when they open, the sun will rise._  


___Here, it's safe, and here, it's warm,  
here the daisies guard you from every harm.  
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true,_

And as always, they look at each other and smile before whispering the last words,

_Here is the place where i love you._


End file.
